The Fall of Pandora
by Don Socrates
Summary: If what that Gypsy said is true, then I don't have much time before they both escape and it's all out war! AngelxZero GaigexOC (ElementalHybrid's OC) OCxOC OCxMaya RolandxLilith and a few others. Thanks to everyone who's reviewed the story! Special thanks in no particular order; amorgan6704, damla22.02, Elemental Hybrid, SW4G M4N, and last but certainly not least Plauge99!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**Alex: I will try to update as much as possible without draining the quality :)**

**amorgan6704: Thanks a lot! Yes, it was Skillet, I like to let music shape my writing.**

**Elemental Hybrid: Yup, Skillet all the way!**

* * *

I feel the rage boiling my blood, the beast is caged but I can't control it, it comes out every now and then, it suppresses me, it keeps me down for a short time, and in that time, it's not unheard of that I'll kill everyone around me.

I want to end it, to end it all with one shiny little bullet, but deep down I'm truly a monster. A monster than can't be killed, only kill others. Why not utilize that? I tried, I really did, I just don't think I tried hard enough. 'Move to Pandora' they said, 'It will be fun!' they said. Fuckers.

I was offered shelter at a town called Sanctuary with a group that called themselves 'The Crimson Raiders', but I can't risk staying with them. I'll happily tag along on their operations because I believe that they are fighting for a noble cause. Maybe it's just my subconscious telling me to quench my thirst for blood.

I prefer the nice quiet solitude of my cave, it's safe when I'm in here… Safe for other people anyway. A monster, is that all I am? A killing machine? Why not be a merc? I would often ask myself that same question . I used to be a freelance mercenary but I was always grouped with others, and after the initial bloodshed, my inner demon would often not be satisfied and take over my mind and slaughter the rest of them. Pity, some of them I actually liked.

One time it spared someone, a young woman, pretty thing, but she'd never appreciate someone like me, not after what she saw me… What she saw 'it' do. She was the captain of a small time mercenary group called the Legionnaires, they contracted some outside help, and after seeing my signing fee and my one hundred percent success rate, they called me up. I don't have regrets about killing off the Legionnaires to be honest with you; they were all crooked bastards that needed to die anyway, it would only have been a matter of time before someone else contracted me to do it anyway.

Who am I? I guess you deserve some answers. I grew up on Earth; an orphan that fought for survival in the gutters of London. I'm the toughest that dingy little planet has to offer.

I couldn't tell you how I got this curse, this thing living inside my soul, tainting my thoughts with a lust for blood, but I can tell you who could. That captain that it spared, I know there is a reason, there must be. It never spared anyone before so why would it now? No, there's something else about her, she was one of the guards at the experimentation facility when I escaped and this thing first escaped me. It spared her then as well. I need to find her, and see what she knows, I'll have to be subtle about it though, one wrong move and this monster will take over, it will become dominant and I seriously doubt it will spare this woman a third time.

As an orphan living in the streets, myself the only tool for survival, I was never given a name by anyone else, I was the strongest out of a group of ten children and people used to call me number ten, then they just shortened it to 'Ten', that was how I got my name. Oh well, sixteen years on and I'm on a different planet, fighting for dominance.

My earliest memory that I know is real was waking up in that experimental facility in the desert. The rest before that could be fake memories implanted in me for all I care. Waking up on that table felt so real. Am I becoming the monster? Has it been me all along waking up on that table and feeling truly alive for the first time? Only one person could give me the answers that I was looking for. Captain Alex Rose.

Rose; a fitting name for such a woman. Rose was tall for a woman, standing just about six foot, which is nice for guys like me, who are on the higher side of six and a half feet tall. Rose has stunning good looks and dark blonde hair that in the two times that I remember seeing her was kept at her shoulders. She wore a small and compact military uniform that looked to protect as well as offer mobility. Dark blue was the colour of the main material with black combat boots. As the Captain of that whole military outfit she was allowed to be lenient with her rules and as a result wore skin tight black pants instead of the regulation fatigues. I wonder if I will ever find her again.

* * *

He got free last night, but I felt it coming on and I moved somewhere new. A different cave that was hidden well within a mountain side. Luckily the worst of the damage is just scratches on the walls, on the outside anyway. I need help with this. The only people I can go to is the Crimson Raiders. I've been tagging along with them for a few months now, but would they rather help me than just see me as another threat to this planet? I'm adamant to get help with my condition, and if they won't help me with that, then I know that they will at least help me with finding Captain Rose. I don't know why the monster in me spared her life, but it did, and there's no avoiding the cold fact that he DID spare her.

I hate going to Sanctuary. It's so grimy. I mean, I live in caves, but this place isn't just filthy. The only people doing any measure of good are the raiders. I suppose I can't blame the people here, they've been oppressed by Jack for nearly five years.

I swore to help the raiders, but first I'm going to leverage some help of my own. Walking through the streets of Sanctuary was a heavy burden, I've never gotten unstable around these people, but they recognize me. There have been too many incidents off-world and stories like that carry weight, people gossip like wild fire when the supernatural occurs, and I'm definitely not natural, despite how it might feel when I change.

The raiders are aware of my condition, Roland himself set me aside for a personal chat to see whether or not I was a risk to Sanctuary. The crazy bastard even offered me a room in the headquarters. I did check it out, but the walls are concrete. Give this 'thing' a few hours and those concrete walls will be nothing but bloody rubble.

I had spoken with the raider's engineer; Gaige, pretty young thing, though I maybe shouldn't say that, she could be anywhere between sixteen and nineteen years old, so it would be a real gamble with some of the stuff that comes to mind. I'm pretty sure she's also wearing a school uniform, or what's left of one, so on that note, I'm going to make interactions with her as clean as possible.

The raiders had also given me access to some interesting machines that Gaige had made in her spare time. Unless you hadn't figured it out already; Gaige is a god damned mechanical genius. The quick change station. I'm not sure what motivated Gaige to build this, I really don't but it's handy if you've nearly had all of your clothes blown away in a vehicle explosion. Has that ever happened to me? No comment.

The raiders saved me from a sticky situation that arose from a job in a local bandit stronghold; they were going in to rescue their team leader, Roland, and they stumbled upon me taking out a whole group of bandits with nothing but a blunt shiv. They saw how well I could handle myself and decided to ask me for help. I liked what they were doing, the whole fight against oppression thing, it was my style because of the sheer amount of fighting. They saw that I was in the ass kicking business, and business is good.

When the bandits pulled me along with them from the bandit stronghold, I was introduced to the rest of the team, I'm not going to go into detail with everyone at the moment, but there is a few of them, they gave me access to all of the machines. The fast travel stations I was already familiar with, but they showed me the quick change station and the various different vending machines. Really, how did I ever get things done without these? They're so convenient.

Enough with how I got here in the first place. The quick change station gave me a completely new set of clothes. To the raiders surprise I hadn't chosen to have any armour plating. Most of the other raiders didn't either, but the other raiders never got as reckless as I did. They didn't know that I have a history of trying to put myself down, for good. That's why I became a mercenary in the first place. If I died on a job then I would finally find peace, if I completed the job, then I get paid large sums of money. I like money, it lets me buy Whiskey, another of my favourite past times.

I always had a fancy for combat boots and combat trousers. A special technology that I once bought from an off world black market is my rather unique cloaking device. It's effective range has worn off over the years so now it only works on my trousers and boots. An active camouflage. My boots and trousers will actively change to mimic their immediate surroundings to make me as stealthy as possible, though it wasn't very good if I happen to be wearing a black t-shirt. I more often than not have the camouflage turned off as I've grown to like the desert storm colours, even if I'm not in the desert.

Walking through the doorway to the Crimson Raider headquarters is always tense; I always get the thought that they have decided to try and end my life, the thought is always at the back of my head. Roland, Axton and Maya are all downstairs, I don't know where the others were but this was about as casual as it got in the raiders. Axton was doing something in the kitchen. Roland had just been passing through until he saw me and Maya was lying at an odd angle on the sofa trying to wash her boredom away with the cracked TV.

Maya has a thing for me, she tries to play it off but I know it's there. I don't know why she does, many of the raiders aren't even that fond of me to boot, like Axton, he really doesn't like me. Probably because I could kick his ass with ease. I hear that Axton has been trying to get together with Maya since they got here. I have a few small scars littered around my face. I'm tall, I mean I'm really big. About the same size as Brick and Krieg, but those two are on a whole new level of strength. I couldn't take them in a fist fight. Maybe the monster inside could, but not me.

I never told the raiders my name, but then they never needed to call me by name, they've never needed to issue me orders on missions. They know that I do my own thing and they have no qualms about that.

"Roland, I need some help with a personal matter." My voice is deep and filled to the brim with blood boiling anger, I need to kill, and I need to kill quickly. That's the inner voice, the voice which compels me to do things that I don't want to do. That's the monster that I am slowly turning into.

"Good to see you. What do you need help with?" Roland had always been willing to hear me out before making a decision, this is why he was the leader of the crimson raiders.

"I need one person to help me with a personal mission that I'd much rather only disclose to the person in question. It could be a simple investigation or it could be a full on fire fight. Desert conditions." As I gave further details, I had become oblivious to the fact that Maya had been standing right next to me checking her weapon the whole time.

"Ah." I said as I realized that there was no way she'd let me shake her off.

Roland gave me a questioning look, he didn't need to even hear my plan, Maya would follow me to the ends of the planet just to please me. Kind of creepy but she was one of the most powerful people on this planet, hell even this side of the universe. Maya is a siren, one of the more powerful ones. Lilith is the strongest that we know of, but if she hadn't started using Eridium to boost her powers then her and Maya would be on the same page.

Off to where it all began, I must confess that I don't really want to do this anymore, but if I don't confront this problem now it could escalate to a much bigger one.

"So where are we going?" She asked me as I walked back out of the Raider headquarters. Roland walked over to where Axton was with a bunch of files. No doubt more Crimson Raider business.

"The quickest route would probably be to head out to the dust and go from there. Although I'm not entirely sure. I'm going to make a quick trip to Marcus'. Meet me back here is five?" I asked her, looking at her out of the corner of my eye. She'd probably been doing very little all day.

"I may as well go with you. I'm bored out of my mind." She exaggerated a motion of her head exploding. It looked violent.

"Suit yourself siren." I responded as I changed direction and moments later I was walking down the stairs to Marcus' gun shop, where I witnessed him kneecap a punk with a revolver. That looked nasty.

"Woah, dude, let's tone down the friendly fire eh?" I walked over the crying lad and over to the counter. There was a monitor on the side which was used to browse the catalogue of millions of weapons that Marcus had in an off-world digistruct storage unit.

"What can I do for you today mystery man?" Marcus asked in a twinged accent. It was strange, he spoke English better than most, but I'm fairly certain that he isn't.

"You know I hate it when you call me that. Let's see what you've got Marcus." I replied as he activated the power to the monitor and an electronic image catalogue popped up with tons of guns.

"He's got a point though. It would help if you told us your name." Maya poked my arm. Don't do that. I don't like it when people poke my arms unnecessarily. It just pisses me off, it won't get your point across any better.

"It might. But no. If you can guess my name then I won't deny it." I said, starting what I assume will lead me to large amounts of amusement.

I bought a few grenades to refill my bandoleer then I bought some ammo. No new guns today, I'm satisfied with my armoury as it stands already. Now it's time to go for a drink before I throw myself into needless danger. Moxxi's place. I remember when Moxxi was called Mad Moxxi. Those were some good times. That was WAY before I began joining the Raider's operations. This was back before Sanctuary was even a town. This was when people were living back in New Haven before Hyperion raided it.

I walked through the door and saw a look of recognition and warmth on the bartender's face.

"You." She smiled. When I've got nothing to do, I pay well for a good amount of drinks.

"Me." I responded with a nod of the head.

"What'll it be this time nameless?"

"Just a Rakk ale please Moxxi." I smiled as she brought it over and money changed hands. That was probably the main motivation of everything on Pandora. Money.

* * *

Time to check my weapons I suppose. Maya is driving the truck. I can drive I'm just not very good at it. The sub-machine gun that's attached to my lower back has served me well over the years. Maliwan, fire edition. It's their limited edition Hellfire. Few people have ever even seen one of these, even less have seen it and lived any longer. The twin magnums sitting comfortably in my leg holsters. These two pieces of war have seen more action than a few of the raiders combined. I mean, Maya came to the raiders with some others that heard about the effort to take down Handsome Jack, and as far as I'm aware, she'd lived in a monastery before that.

A bandoleer of nuclear grenades, low yield of course, that would be rather stupid otherwise. They have a teleportation effect on them, this means that the moment they leave my hand and achieve their target force and direction, they will disappear then reappear a certain distance away, very handy for shielded targets, not so good if you throw it too hard, sometimes they go through the building all together. Not so handy.

My custom assault rifle. My pride and joy. Fully automatic, Torgue stock, Dahl barrel, Bandit magazine capacity. Vladof sight. Perfect. High impact prototype Maliwan bullets that are currently still in the development stages, therefor they are just high intensity armour piercing bullets and haven't been assigned an elemental type. They can pretty much chew through a tank though.

We're getting close, I remember that there's a small village around here somewhere and it's getting dark, probably best to find shelter somewhere, it would be unfair to make Maya keep driving for god knows how much more time, and I'm certainly not taking the wheel in the dark.

"There's a village somewhere to the left of here, we'll need to make sure our stocks are up to scratch and rest up before we get to the facility, I'm not sure what to expect and that makes me nervous." My admittance was limited. We were going to find shelter, but it wouldn't be shelter for me. Maya can stay in a room while I go and recon ahead of us. I don't sleep much anymore, not recently anyway, not since I've been losing control more often, I can't risk doing that to Maya.

Perhaps she might be able to save me from it. No, I can't risk thinking like that, can't risk letting her try. Maybe I'll succumb to her request in letting their doctor take a look at me. I hope they mean the man who was acting medical doctor and not the crazy one.

"Ooh, are we getting a room together?" I had to look her in the eye, I couldn't tell whether she was actually teasing me or was secretly hopeful. I actually felt bad when I said 'No' as plain as day. Had she not been a super powerful siren, I would have felt bad , but she was, so I didn't. It was also annoying when she didn't immediately drop the subject.

"Why won't you let anyone in?" Bad choice of words. I could pretty much turn any sentence around to get myself out of an awkward conversation like this.

"Possibly because I'm not a door." She didn't like that. Now she was serious, all joking aside she was expecting a clear answer to this difficult question.

"Seriously, I want to know, I want to help." She sounded sincere, maybe she really was going to be there for me. I got the horrible feeling that she might soon find out.

"You know why." I replied bitterly, there was no way she couldn't know.

"Because you believe yourself to be a monster? I don't believe that." Stubborn. Why must sirens always be stubborn. Now I have to explain everything.

"Fine. Deep down there really is a monster. I feel it deep within, it's just beneath the skin. I keep it caged and away from those I… Care about." There I said it. See I do care.

"Let me in, take down your barrier. I really can help you." I want to, but I can't. I know how Krieg feels. As much as I hate to talk about this, I hate awkward silences even more.

"You don't even know my name." Wrong move, I should have chosen something else. Maya knows more about me than most others do.

"Then tell me." She looked me in the eyes and for a second I felt a sensation of deep warmth and comfort, but such feelings were not welcome on Pandora. Things like that would get you killed.

We're here, a horribly run down little town, but there is a hotel type thing in the centre. God this place is in worse condition than the Happy Pig and that place has been offline for months. As soon as we walked through the doors I realized that I'd made a mistake, Maya was the most stubborn and relentless person I'd ever met.

"Room for two newly-weds please." Her smiled turned to me with a threatening glare, the kind of thing that said 'If you don't talk to me about it I'll torture you for fifty years' I reluctantly returned the sarcastic smile as she lead the way to our room. Don't do this to me Maya, if the monster comes you won't like it.

* * *

We're inside the room we just paid for and she's standing there looking at me expectantly. What am I supposed to do, oh god what is she expecting me to say? I've got to keep contact to a minimal. It isn't just rage and blood lust that brings out the monster. Its other kinds of lust, things that I have long abandoned in my search for the past.

"I'm going out." Is really all I can bear to say as I break the awkward eye contact.

"No you're not." She said it so casually that it shocked me for a moment.

"I'm going out to do recon." I repeated. She looked at me weirdly. Was she analyzing me? How strange. I think she's trying to provoke me, trying to make me lose control of this thing inside me.

"No, I do believe you're going to stay in this room with me." Well this is new. I feel no urge to fight it off. But I couldn't let her get to me. What if she really could help me? What's happening to me? Am I getting soft, giving in isn't my style.

"You don't want this." The words were difficult to form. Had Maya been taking tips from Moxxi to become an irresistible seductress? It was working, I'm trying to protest but unable to move from the spot, or even turn my head away. Our eyes are locked with each other's.

"I do want this." She said. Her words were shot right through my mental barrier, there was no denying it, she knew how to push me.

She's so confident that she knows what she's doing, and for her sake I hope her confidence isn't misplaced. She's walking over to me slowly. No don't do that. I'm still glued to the spot… Well, shit.

After she'd taken off her own top she removed mine, underneath she could see my battle scars, my muscles tensing under my skin, she could tell that I was fighting against this thing that wanted to break my mind, imprison me and do whatever the siren wanted us to do. Running her hands over my body, feeling the textures of my many different scars. Bullet wounds, burns, stabs.

No! It's found me, this can't be happening, she has no idea what she's bringing out. Darkness obscuring my vision. My screams of agony, turning into his screams of agony, this is bad; soon I'll be the prisoner. A prisoner inside my own body until the monster subsides and I wake up god knows where, having killed however many people. Darkness. It all fades away like this, right before I lose control for good. My vision slowly turns into a picture that is surrounded by more darkness. Slowly fading further away, making my vision smaller and smaller until I see nothing, and he's the one in control. Sleep. That's all I hear inside my head now. Sleep.

* * *

What the fuck!? I'm awake, standing in the very room I turned in. There were no scratches on the walls. No damage to anything. Outside the window the sun is burning my eyes, its early morning and the townsfolk are going about their day in their usual manner, no deaths. Or no apparent deaths. That's not his style, he doesn't care about subtlety. The worst part is that upon turning around I can see Maya sleeping in our nearly destroyed bed. Her clothes are nowhere to be seen.

My top is shredded on the floor, or I assume those black tatters of material are what used to be my clothes. Maya's naked. She's naked and sleeping soundly with a smile on her face. What have I done? What has she done? This was her doing not mine; she knew that I wouldn't be myself.

Pain, searing heat crossing down my back, I'd better check that out, just to make sure it wasn't her attempt to fend me off before something dark happened. I found a mirror in the small skanky bathroom that was supposedly our en suite facility. To my surprise its scratch marks. Nails? It must have been; long thing cuts that drag right across the top of my back to the small of it.

Oh dear god, no, please tell me that wasn't from Maya. I checked her fingers; the nails have blood in them. Dry sweat is covered both of our bodies.

Well at least no one died that time. Oh my god, he's spared two different people. What's going on inside that mind of his? Better wait for Maya to wake up. Good god how long we're we up last night? It feels like we only just stopped. The worst part about having something like this take over every now and then is that you share one body; whatever it does you're going to feel the strain as well the next morning.

I'm going to go find a nice spot to sit down. Outside the bedroom is a small terrace type thing with a smidge of shade and two deck chairs either side of a table. There's no place that someone can get the drop on us, so I don't mind falling asleep out there.

* * *

Maya stirred in the bed inside. I've been sitting on this terrace in the sun for nearly two hours. She's getting up, god damn this is going to be awkward.

Nope, apparently not, she's just waltzed out of the bedroom in noting but the bed sheets and sat down in the adjacent chair.

"So." She said with a cheeky grin.

I said nothing, I didn't know what happened last night, why should I comment on it?

"You weren't lying about having a monster inside you. How much do you remember?" She asked me sincerely. If she didn't before, she definitely loved me now.

"When I change, I become the prisoner. I don't remember anything, that wasn't me, that was something else. What happened Maya?" She knew that this was not joking matter. I only ever addressed her directly by name when I expected answers and she knew this.

"Last night, you weren't the only one with a monster in you." How crude. Admittedly I did laugh a little on the inside.

"That's not good." I frowned. I hated frowning, but I had to try and hide the smile that was forming across my face. I was always told that if you frown your life expectancy goes down. A load of shit but I don't look good frowning anyway.

"Oh yes it was." She corrected me. That's not what I meant but I didn't want to argue any longer than was necessary.

Ignoring Maya's crude phrasings I decide that it's time we moved out. We need to get there while we can still call it day time. That being said, it's not even close to mid-day and the facility is really only a couple more miles. Not even worthy of being called a drive.

"You ready to move out?" I'm going soft, I realised that after I registered how sincere that last sentence sounded.

"Say the word and we'll hit the road again." She responded. Disregarding everything that happened last night, Maya really was remarkable. If I had known that everything would have been fine from the start then I would have gone straight to her anyway. There was something about her, I just couldn't place it but it felt right. She felt like an old friend that had always been there.

There was no such promise of safety though. She could have been killed by me, unfortunate I know, but that's the cold truth. I really am a monster, despite what she says.

* * *

"Park up here Maya, we're close. We go on foot from here." I have to keep my mind off of her and on the mission at hand, but no matter how hard I try, she just creeps back into the front of my mind and distracts me. What is this?

We trekked over a small sandy hill which gave us a decent vantage point over the gigantic facility in front of us. From first look you would think that it's just a derelict hospital. But no amount of Eridium would change the fact that this place used to house a horrible secret of experimentation. Far worse than what Jack is doing at the moment.

"Need some help?" The voice came out of the sky, but only myself and Maya could hear it because it was patched directly into our ECHO units. It was Angel. A super computer that used to work for Handsome Jack but had turned rogue. Pretty soon we'd be storming her chambers high up in thousand cuts to get our hands on the vault key. After that not much would stand between us and the warrior. This giant thing that Jack planned on waking to destroy us and such.

"Scan that facility, inform me of security, be it automated turrets to hired guns." I said calmly. This isn't my first time doing this kind of job, but the prospect of finding out the truth made me nervous, and when I'm nervous, bad things usually happen. Really bad things, usually to those who oppose my goals, or at least 'its' goals. Bloodshed and murder are usually at the top of his list, but you know sometimes other things… Like a certain kind of lust, ask Maya at some point, she'll tell you with the clarity that I don't want to.

"The first floor is clear and abandoned as is the theme for the rest of the hospital that's above ground." Angel's voice didn't belong to that of a computer but then I suppose she was the most advanced computer there was.

"But?" I knew there would be more, there always was with Angel, she was always thorough.

"But below ground it's some of the most advanced security my scanners have ever seen, oh… That's not good." Angel said. This worried me, what's not good?

"What is it Angel?" I'm getting impatient, I hate it when people step around me with things.

"The security detail guarding the facility. It's massive, and I've got them on Hyperion networks as well. This isn't going to be easy for you to hear but, it's the Legionnaires." That name, it hit me like a Rakk hive foot.

"Acting captain?" I already knew. She wanted me dead after I slaughtered her squad, there's no way she's going to take any chances on this. The bigger the jobs she took, the more money she got, the quicker she could fund her private army. Damn that woman was smart.

"Captain Alex Rose. From the records I have of you, I believe you've already met." Angel's voice, cold and un-sympathizing, this is what confirmed that she was a computer.

"Yeah, I thought so, come on Maya, we're going in." I didn't sound so certain, but Maya couldn't tell, she was focused and determined to get this done. She'd never faced off against a private army before.

"I've also got some interesting reports on you." Angel said. I froze. What? They don't even know my name, how could they have reports on me. How could Angel know it's me?

"Ten." That name, I hadn't been called that name in such a long time. It hurt, it stung me like a thousand bullets burning through my soul. No! That was the trigger the whole time! The demon that had taken up residence inside my soul had finally been awakened. We're not talking about this feeble monster anymore, we're talking about an upgraded demon of chaos and war.

The monster was nothing compared to the demon that I had thought long since dead, and he'd gotten an unfair upgrade. Unfair for the entire world. Sometimes I felt like I could just walk into a fire fight and have it ended. But no, not anymore. There was never a bottom line where this beast would become alive, there were just intense moments. But no matter how hard I try, there's no escaping the demon inside. This THING will haunt me forever, it will burn me on the insides. I have become that monster.

"Ten?" She whispered, a fear ridden voice.

I could see in it Maya's eyes, she could see that tiny little clock ticking away until realization, I could feel her fear, and I have to admit, I actually liked it. I'd forgotten what true power had felt like all this time. I could call upon it at any time I liked. But I didn't, I think I'll save it for when I see Captain Alex Rose. There's no guarantee this beast will maintain until then. I want to see the fear in her eyes as I devour the souls of her men in front of her, I want her to see how useless their money bought guns will be against me. It. ME. I'm a monster, and I love it.

"Let's go Maya." Those were the words that came out, but I thought of very different things. A blood haze obscuring my vision, just a thin visible line to my goal, just a small wisp of air that leads me to the blood shed, oh god I want it now. I can feel him burning at my insides, trying to cripple me, to come out from his side. NOT YET! I scream, I want her to see this, I want her to know how little she really is, then I'm going to spare her again. The power of my true name courses through my veins once more, I've missed you demon.

I hear it reply, a faint whisper in the back of my mind. Maya doesn't argue, she doesn't say a word. She doesn't fear for her life in my hands, she just merely observes me for a while. She's onto me, she knows something's different.

We get to the door of the old building. The front doors used to be made of solid wood but they're now weathered away, the green molding wood of the frames would come apart at a strong wind, but I want Maya to see my new found power. I slam my fist down on the doors and they splinter into a thousand pieces. The destruction is feeding my appetite, I want more, I need more. Only a little longer and it can have all the chaos I want. All the chaos WE want.

* * *

**Please review the story if you liked it, it keeps me going! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**amorgan6704: More people willing to leave reviews would be nice, good or bad. I handed the rest of the old story over to Plauge.99 because I was silly and didn't backup my computer, it had a meltdown and such.**

* * *

Storming through that old hallway, the memories of my escape come flooding back to me, like a shot of morphine. Don't ask how I know what that feels like, I just wanted a comparison.

"What's happening to you?" Maya asked, she's stopped by the door, ready to make a quick escape if I'd made any dangerous movements.

"You know when I said there's a monster in me?" I asked her, my voice now full of excitement, this wasn't a horrible mission of self discovery, this was a hunt, and the prey was close.

"Yeah?" She replied worriedly.

"You haven't met him yet." I smirked before I carried on down the hallway. I don't know how Maya planned to descend into the lower levels, but I simply thought of going through the broken elevator.

"Do you require more assistance?" Angel asked me, she was careful not to say my name again. Good girl, she learns quickly.

"No, and shut off your ECHO feed, I don't need people seeing this." I said quickly, never faltering from my excited mood.

"Maya, I would suggest that you give him space, I've got no reports of behaviour such as this." She said, Maya took her word for it, but was too shocked to reply when she saw me disarm a troop of heavily armed guards. My legendary speed had returned to me, I loved it, I have to seize every moment I have with this power before it eludes me once more.

Maya never had a chance to shoot any of the men, I had taken their life force away from them all before the first body hit the floor. A punch to the nose of the first man that send a bone into his brain quickly shutting it down permanently, a flash of the blade that I kept in my belt sliced through the jugular vein of the second armed guard, and by the time I'd finished my complete body rotation, I'd pulled out m dual .357's and fired off a bullet that disrupted the craniums of the last two guards.

Shame, these guys didn't give me a good enough challenge. Maya stared at me in disbelief, this wasn't even the animal inside, this was me just being excited. The radio sparked to life on what I assume could only have been this poor patrol's leader.

"Bravo team, this is Captain Rose requesting a report, out." The thing died as quickly as it had come to life. Bravo team huh? Bravo, they're dead now, this better not be the peak of their training, if it is then the rest of them are really going to have a hard time fighting me. I picked up the radio and decided to let them know they're about to have guests.

"Bravo team, report, we've heard gunshots, report, out."

"Angel, make sure everyone can hear me when I talk through this radio." Angel knew better than to argue with me at the moment, I'm in a very temperamental mood you might say.

"Done."

"Bravo team is dead, they weren't much of a challenge… Disappointing." I said sadistically over the radio. Right, time to sober up from this power trip, I'm starting to scare Maya, and I don't want that, not after we had a breakthrough last night.

"You." The reply was cold and full of hate, exactly the thing I would expect from a grudge harbouring mercenary overlord such as Captain Rose.

"That's right, it's me, ready for round two?" I'm not standing around here waiting for Charlie and Delta to rain on my parade.

"Maya if you don't want to come with me, step away now, I won't lie to you, what you see from here on will change everything you know about me." I tried to act as casually as I possibly could, but when she stepped forward and gave me a passionate kiss, I couldn't help but smile at how kickass she is.

We descended the staircase from the open security door where Bravo team had come through, no resistance as we stormed through the levels. As it happens, Rose isn't as dumb as it would seem, she made it impossible to simply come down all of the levels at once, we had to individually descend the levels by actually going through the levels, this meant more guards and more chances for them to overpower us. FUN!

"Alpha team, go!" Loudspeakers? Really? Loudspeakers? You couldn't have stuck with the radio com system, at least that way I don't know when you send your men to their deaths, oh well.

I was caught out, I must have spent too long thinking about how silly speaker systems was, fortunately I got to experience the power of a siren close up. The man who was inches away from imbedding a machete in my skull was lifted off the ground in an agonising bubble of enigmatic siren energy. It looked painful, it probably didn't help that I shot him a few times for good measure.

The rest of that squad were no match for mine and Maya's combined combat expertise. These must have been mercs looking desperately for jobs, or maybe the cheapest mercs that Alex could find, either way they were falling like flies. We came to the next stair case but then I heard a minute sound, I signalled for Maya to hold up with the classic fist in the air and fingers across lips signalling silence was necessary for this next part.

I retraced my steps by a few meters before I came to a wall and was happy with the position. Then without warning I slammed my fist through the old rotting wall and grabbed one of the mercs by the neck, forcing his face to collide with the wall. Maya nearly jumped out of her skin, if I was lucky then I could get two of them.

I was fast enough to grab another merc but I might have been a bit too rough, I pulled this guy through the old wall, collapsing that section and completely restricting any access to the east wing of this floor. Poor mercs, but they know the risks of the mercenary business. I don't exactly feel sorry for them, but being trapped is a nasty way to go, maybe if I'm feeling generous I'll make another hole on my way back up.

Me and Maya cut through the floors like a knife through hot butter, these mercs were nothing, some of them looked like they'd never held a gun before, but then there was always the odd one who looked like they'd been in more than a few tough fire fights, these were the guys who made me actually line up my shots before nailing them with deadeye accuracy.

Nearly there, the bloodlust returning, it's burning just under my skin, I want this, I want to cause death and destruction, but I WILL wait until I get to Alex Rose before I let myself slip away from consciousness, before I turn into this demon that will get to sate it's unhealthy appetite.

* * *

I feel his power coursing through my veins, not long now, I promise. I'm starting to lose control as it is, but I outright refuse to lose control completely.

"Something's happening!" I hear Maya scream somewhere behind me. I didn't want to get into the conversation of how my body could erupt into a fiery demon at any second, or at least I wanted to prolong that conversation for as long as possible.

"Keep going!" I shout in response, we're two floors above where Rose has fortified her final position. Assuming that I could hold of the transformation in that time, I would gladly let him take over when I got to that floor.

Maya was strengthening her own powers, using her phaselocking ability and wiping out whole units, and within no time we were stood in front of the doors that held the one person who would make or break my mind entirely.

"Maybe we should call some backup." Maya didn't like talking to me when I was fighting this demon off, I could tell. It's mere presence would send people careering in fear, but to actually see me in this state worried her even more. She's seen it's minor state, and he was nothing like me, nothing at all, and even less like 'him'. Its time, I hear him calling to me. 'Let go' No! I will at least talk to her first!

The doors open and Maya ducks for cover instantly as a hail of bullets whiz past our heads, I'm not so worried, worst case scenario I take too much damage and the change becomes automatic and I slaughter everyone here, with the most probably exceptions of Rose and Maya. Best case scenario; Rose calls off her firing squad for a few minutes so that she can be smug before I wipe out yet another unit of hers.

Two defensive lines of grunts with high powered assault rifles had begun raining hell on me from behind their small metal spikes that they probably ordered on the ECHO net for five bucks. Weak, like paper mache. This whole area is a garage, that's not good, that means there's an escape route, there must be if this facility kept heavily armoured vehicles on the ground level. Still they all had their gun turrets pointed at me, those things could really put me out of the fight for a while.

The garage had a high roof, shame, I loved the noise bodies made when they collided with a low ceiling, god this demon was making me sadistic, not too much longer.

"STOP FIRING!" I have to hand it to her, she knows how to command a bunch of untrained monkeys. Show time. My skin is pale and sweaty from holding it off for so long, but a few more minutes then I can rest in peace.

"So you've come to finish me off have you?" Her voice was sweet, I have nothing against her and I'm pretty sure we have had sex in the past as well, but my memory isn't that great.

"No, I came looking for answers!" I yell out defiantly, "You just happened to know that I'd eventually come back to this place, but your private army didn't exactly help did it?" Rhetorical. They're currently all making a mess of the place with their innards, they were terrible mercs.

"So this is it huh? You're going to let your bad mood try to kill me again?" She actually had sadness in her voice. I had to issue some ground rules, whether he listened to them or not is neither here nor there.

'You must not kill Maya or Rose, you got that? You do either one of them in and I'll commit suicide and end us permanently.' I didn't know whether or not my internal threats would register with a demon or if it even understood me, but by god I was shocked when it replied with a voice inside my head, plain as day.

'As you wish' OK that was scary, that's never happened before, but I'm too weak to worry about that now, the transformation is going to happen in a matter of minutes.

"Maya, run, stay above ground and wait for me." She didn't argue, but then again she didn't move, she stayed put, there was no way I'd shake this girl.

"Have it your way." I muttered loud enough for her to hear me before turning my full attention back to Captain Alex Rose.

"This monster that you speculate, well you've seen nothing yet, that was a mood swing, this is the real monster!" I let my defences down, the power comes through, it feels so good, I can feel my blood turn to fire as my brain goes primal and I lust for the killing, nothing can be done now, it's an automatic machine of death and fury, my mind goes blank and I embrace the darkness, resting never felt so good, but at the same time so bad. I feel sorry for these soldiers, so small compared to me, I'm like a god to them, shame, I hope Maya doesn't hate me after this. Darkness. Nothing but Darkness.

* * *

Good god I've got the worst headache in the history of everything ever, and I've been through more than a few liver busting drinking sprees.

I'm too weak to stand on my own at the moment but I'm still in the garage, that's a positive sign, the back wall has been completely destroyed revealing a small dingy caved road which no doubt acted as the escape route. One of the tanks had disappeared which could only mean at least someone was alive.

Standing here panting, drenched in my own sweat, it can't have been long since he took over, it never is. If I'm lucky, Maya is somewhere nearby.

"We've got a lot of catching up to do it would seem." Her voice was the sweetest thing in the universe right now.

I turned and promptly collapsed in her arms. Luckily she's strong and easily caught me and hauled me over to a small vehicle, it looked fast, but it had no offensive or defensive measures, that could be a problem is Rose decided to come back with the tank, but my guess is she's long gone by now.

"Maya." I said weakly. I hated being this weak, it never usually happened.

"I'm right here." Her words are reassuring, never have I ever imagined that I might find solace in another person. She's real, this is all real, I might actually be able to find normality now. I can't put it into words how I feel about her. She's witnessed my true colours and she's disregarded it as nothing more than a personality flaw. Which is incredible when you look at how much blood there is in this room. I'm glad that I got through to the demon.

'_You ask, and I will do._' It speaks again? I don't even feel it trying to control me, what is this? Have I found a mutual agreement with my inner demon?

'You mean, I threaten you with death and you will not harm specific people?' I'm not sure whether I could maintain a conversation with this thing but this is better than having no understanding at all.

'_Yes._' His voice sends chills down my spine, even housed inside my head it scares me, the raw destructive power of this being, it's wrong, it's demonic, but at the same time I love it.

We sped through the secret entrance, it wasn't a long path but then it didn't need to be, the doorway at the end of the cave was built into a cluster of rocks and boulders which were now no more. I recognise this part, it's barely any distance away from the hospital as it is, the town is only a fifteen minute drive from here, not long now before I can regain my energy.

I'd promised to help the raiders with their Hyperion problem so I suppose that I'd have to wait before I tracked down Rose again. Dammit she got away before I could get anything out of her. It spared her a second time, but that was on my command. I'd never thought about it before but now that it's come to mind I don't see why I don't just question the demon.

'Why did you spare her the first time?' Concentrating hard enough for my inner voice to be heard is harder than it sounds, you not only have to find a connection but you have to maintain it, like having an ECHO call, only it uses your energy not the ECHO device's.

'_Curiosity. She has power. You've been deceived, try not to fall for it again._' Is that a warning? Did I just get warned by a demon? It would make some small amount of sense I suppose; if Rose is actually powerful and could end it all, then there's sufficient reason that the demon would warn me against it.

On the outside it probably looked like I was just passed out because I had my eyes closed and was trying to talk to a voice in my head. I'm not crazy. I'm not.

'If she's powerful then why did you listen to me and spare her like I asked?' Now we're getting somewhere, but I'm fading into unconscious. I see black spots here and there but I'm determined to find out what it knows.

'_She had not previously seen this form. She'd seen that pathetic caged animal that I had become whilst dormant. I knew that in this form she would assume herself to be unprepared and therefore flee before my full power. Thus I let you have your wish of not killing her. There were enough grunts to sate my appetite.'_

'You're one sick bastard you know that?' I really have no other words to say to it. That's just dark. I mean, I know I've thought and said it before, but this thing is getting a kick out of it. I can't describe to you what I look like when I change because it's been so long since it's happened.

I will always remember the sensation of the fire filling up my veins and evil creeping into my mind. The red mist floods through my eyes and all I can see before I descend into the unknown depths of blood lust are pieces of meat standing in front of me. The fear from these beings is almost physical, some pass out from seeing my demonic form. This monster has never harmed those who have not been able to defend themselves, whether that's because it has a tiny shred of honour or merely because it's no fun is beyond me.

It didn't reply, it knew that nothing more would need to be said, but it gave me something more to think about, Rose was powerful, what had he meant by that, like supernatural power like him? Possibly genetically altered power. Some of Jack's subjects had had breakthroughs like that at a subatomic level. I took a job once to assassinate one of Jack's generals. Worst thrashing of my life; I got the job done alright but at no easy cost. I had to detonate my failsafe. This abomination was down but not out, I only just managed to get out of the blast zone which was no easy feat with a broken leg, the last measure to kill this thing was to empty my entire bullet count into its head, but to no surprise it healed itself like a cheating little bitch.

My last chance to put that general down? I decided there was only one thing I could do. I stood arms wide while it landed a fearsome punch that cracked my skull in four places. Then the caged animal was unleashed. Poor general never had a clue what hit him. There are upsides to changing. Both the animal that this demon used to be and the demon itself can heal my body easily, not instantly but still without problems. Extreme trauma to the brain was what finished that freak off once and for all.

The strange thing was that once I'd atomized it's remains, Jack himself had contacted me, just laughing in my face. 'Boy if you thought he was a hard match, then you're in for a nasty surprise'. I can only imagine that he meant this freak was a low level experimental success and that there were much stronger ones out there. Oh well, enough of the past for now, we're at the hotel, Maya came round the car and slung one of my arms over my shoulder as we limped through the building and repaid for our old room. Bring on the rest, I think I've earned it.

* * *

I'm awake, my ECHO device says that it's half past nine. Nine AM. It's the morning and the sun is breaching the curtains. I don't remember last night, but I know that something kept me up, I didn't pass out like I thought I would.

Maya's lying next to me, hand across my chest. Oh, that's what kept me up. I see. She's really something. I'm not sure which one of us is the one keeping up with the other, I really don't. Oh well. Better get up. If the demon is right, then Rose is going to come back with a squad that's actually powerful. Those poor mercenaries had no idea that Rose was using them just to see how powerful I am, or should I say how powerful he is?

They'll be coming for me, I'd better check Maya's weapons too, who knows how much time we've got? The twin magnums, check, all stocked with armour piercing bullets. Those are hard to get hold of. If you're ever on Pandora, go to Sanctuary and talk to Marcus about armour piercing .44 shells and see how much he charges you, go on, I dare you. But in all seriousness, Marcus gives me the same discount that the raiders get. To be honest he doesn't even care about the discount, not with the amount of merchandise we all buy from him. The loss from the discount is barely even recognisable.

My hellfire SMG is ready to go, I'd just paid for a new batch of Maliwan fire rounds, they're extremely powerful and really I try to save them for oversized wild life. You wouldn't believe me if I'd told you how many times I've been eaten by threshers around here. The best way to do things is to use a fire weapon on the insides, they literally melt aware in front of you.

On that note, I check Maya's guns as well, she always carries her electricity infused Maliwan wherever she goes. It was originally a gift from Moxxi but she found that she has a fondness for Maliwan attachments and added a shock effect. Not a bad gun to be fair, very, very accurate, Maya could hit a tin can from one hundred yards with this baby.

She also for some reason carried a sniper rifle. As accurate as she may be, she had nothing on Zero and Mordecai. If you were every unlucky enough to get Mordecai talking, you'd soon be stuck hearing the tale of how he got thrown in prison for winning an intergalactic shooting competition. Specialised for snipers of course, why would he get jail time for that? Well, quite simply; Mordecai won the sniper specialisation with a revolver, they accused him of cheating and he ran, simple as, that's the story of how Mordecai came to Pandora.

Maya's sniper rifle was standard grade Jakobs technology, very powerful gun; nine times out of ten, whatever she shot with it went down, and stayed down.

Ah, my pride and joy, my custom assault rifle, it houses fifty eight bullets what with having a bandit clip and two in the chamber, oh the joys of a double barrelled machine gun, and if your target is still standing after pumping sixty custom made armour piercing 7.62 millimetre rounds into it, then it's probably a dragon.

BOOM! An explosion went off outside.

Boom? My gun doesn't go boom. Ah shit, they're here. "Maya! Wakey wakey!" I shout, trying to rouse the sleeping siren.

"I'm tired." She replied as she phase locked me gently and threw me out of the room. No one does that me and gets away with it. She's not going to like this next bit. I ran straight up to her and slapped her bare ass as hard as I could without breaking any bones.

"OUCH!" Well that wasn't actually what she said, but I don't feel comfortable repeating her actual words.

I held out my hands, in one was her submachine gun. Her sniper was on the table, and in the other hand was her combat suit; which was revealing as it was, and slightly distracting in a combat situation. Oh my god, she had done it, I wasn't talking like I used to, I wasn't as depressed. She'd actually done it. Now isn't the time to be thinking about that though, we've got bigger problems.

"They're here." I said calmly, strapping in my harness of various weapons of warfare.

"Who?" She asks me in confusion, I must have forgotten to tell her about my conversation with 'him'.

"Ugh, Rose and what I assume is the real members of the Legionnaires." I say, then it occurs to her that I'd been conversing with the demon.

"Yeah, I'll explain later, first we deal with these douchebags." I promise her, then as she's still getting dressed I plant a kiss on her cheek which comforts us both as I head down the stairs of the hotel rapidly, the question is how did they find me in under a day?

'You there?' I'm not sure whether he's always able to hear me or not but I get an answer which is good.

'_Yes_.' God that voice is eerie, I hope I never have to fight this thing, I don't know how exactly I would, probably in imagination land or something similar.

'I just wanted to tell you that you're not coming out again until I need you, this is my fight now.' Fun, let's see how this ends, probably not well for me.

_'As you wish, I will not intervene unless called upon; you remember how to pull me out_.' He has a point, it's all coming back to me now, the bottom line, I always used him when I took too much damage. The trigger is anger, good to know.

Outside the hotel four people are menacingly walking up towards the hotel, they not only knew where we were staying but they managed to pin point our exact location, that's not good. Well there's only one way I'm prepared to do this, I pass the hotel owner who is cowering behind the front desk.

"Your hat, give me your hat." I demand. He's in shock, I understand that, part of his building just got obliterated, I'm sorry, that wasn't even my fault, but if I'm going to take on four unknown people, then I'm damn well going to do it in style.

"Angel, report, give me statistics here, background, strengths weaknesses, anything." I said as I grabbed the managers hat after he didn't respond.

I walked out of the hotel and the four people see me as I slowly put the hat on, western style. God I'm dramatic sometimes. I get to a good point, I wouldn't say vantage point because I was stood in the middle of the sandy abandoned street just like they were. Four of them, from the far left was a middle aged man who wore the uniform that they all were, dark blue with a blood red 'DM' embroidered over the heart area. His sleeves had been ripped to the elbows and his top had a zipper installed. Their uniform standards would not go unnoticed in a place like Pandora, so there must be a reason that Rose allowed this man to stoop in their guidelines.

The uniform as it went was a dark blue patched top with black combat trousers and black boots, in the exact same style that mine were, weird, the only difference was the colour.

Next to this man was Rose herself, wearing the uniform except with armour covering vital parts, coward. On the right of these two were what must have been twins, a man and a woman, they stood closer together than the others but I'm not taking any chances on assuming they're the weakest. This won't be easy.

"I see you've brought back up." I say loud enough for them to hear me.

"I see you haven't." The rough looking man replies.

'_He's strong. We've met before, cannot place it though._' Yeah thanks, that's practically useless information, whatever.

"I wasn't sure whether or not I needed to." Of course I did, what a dipshit I am. These guys are outfitted to the max, they could be the most deadly mercs in the universe for all I know.

This isn't good, I'm going to die in the street of a shanty town, just like that gypsy woman said.

* * *

"I wasn't sure if I needed to or not." Stupid statement, these guys were armed to the teeth, they all had the same weapons, and they looked low grade, what gives?

'They rarely use weapons, they are all powerful, be weary.' Yeah thanks a lot! You could have told me this before I decided to face off against them. Maya came through the hotel door, squinting at the sight of the sun blaring in her eyes obnoxiously.

"Ah, Ten, still naïve as ever I see." The man on the left stated.

'What did he just call me!?' I demanded, I was full aware of what he called me, but I wanted to hear it from another source.

'_He called you Ten._'

'Well duh! I mean, why did he just call me that?'

'_I told you, we've already met them_.' You are so not helpful, if I could fire you, I swear to god I would.

Rose noticed me winching trying to talk to him.

"Having problems readjusting to that name are we?" She asked smugly.

"Don't push it, bitch. Do you want me to waste the rest of this squad as well? He's growing fast, we're already back onto talking terms." Oh she didn't like that at all, which made it all the better. As it turns out my understanding of the whole situation had been RATFU; it's a military term.

Captain Alex Rose had been playing me the entire time, she'd coaxed the monster to come out, it wasn't my fault, much.

"Well, we'll just have to see how good you really are, Jace, go." The first order was issued and he pulled out his Tedior submachine gun, but he never even got to fire a shot, I disarmed him with one well-placed .44 calibre magnum shell to the face of his gun. It had broken and the shock had sent it out of his hand.

"Very good, you didn't even need your pal to help you out." This Jace guy was a little too cocky for his own good, let's tip the ball in my court.

"Angel, send my co-ordinates to Lilith, get her here alone ASAP, my exact location. She needs visualisation but she may have already been here. Pronto." I muttered quietly enough for Angel to hear me.

"Oh you mean my siren girlfriend here?" I said, the look on his face was priceless, a frown that could have been seen even from this distance, the suddenly the male twin spoke up.

"Captain we are not prepared to fight a siren, I suggest retreating." A weird voice, it was like they both spoke at once.

"Noted. Jace; do you like your odds against a siren?" She asked him, he nodded.

"I'll manage." He didn't sound as confident as he did before, let's hope Lilith could tip his scales even more.

"Oh really? How about two?" There she was, that voice, so similar to Maya's but they were so different to each other. She was still covered in purple energy when I turned to her, but it soon went away.

"Hi." Was all I said. Power attracts power, but then she hadn't seen me in action, dammit, only a matter of time before every woman on this planet lined up in front of me. OK, maybe that's an overreaction, but you get the idea.

"What do you need killer?" She asked me coolly. This was something that I wasn't planning on telling Maya but I hoped she wouldn't argue none the less.

"Things are about to get messy here, take Maya back to Sanctuary and don't worry about me." I never took my eyes of Jace, what was he?

'_He's poised in position, he's a natural hunter, be careful._' Wow, concern from that guy? This is so screwed up.

"What? No way, we fight together!" Maya argued, ah this isn't the time for your stubbornness woman!

"This is not your fight, now go, I don't want more people seeing things they don't need to." This got Lilith questioning me, eyebrow raised and everything.

"I'll tell you later." I said, turning back to the four at the other end of the street. The captain and the twins were relaxed as ever but this Jace guy was getting excited, was he some sort of animal?

Reluctantly Maya agreed to go with Lilith on the grounds that Angel was allowed to video feed my ECHO to the raiders. That wasn't what I wanted, and now I'd have a lot of explaining to do when I got back, if they ever let me back that is.

Lilith and Maya vanished with a bright purple flash, I'd never ridden along with Lilith's teleportation but it looked disorientating at best.

"Let's go big boy, what've you got?" I challenged Jace, this was admittedly not one of my best moves I'll be honest, I had no idea what he was going to do next, whereas they seemed pretty well informed as far as my combat prowess goes.

He rushed me, and he's fast, but not as fast as me, I blocked a punch and kicked him back giving me sufficient distance.

"I see, a good old fashioned fist fight is what you want? All right, I'll honour that." I laid down all of my weapons like a good sport, again not one of my best moves, I know.

Jace said nothing but simply smiled like a psychopathic child getting a buzz axe for Christmas. In the distance I saw Rose and the twins sit down at what used to be a thriving bar area, I would assume that they sat there for the shade to watch either myself or Jace get beaten to a pulp. I'd like to say that hand to hand combat is my area of expertise, but honestly it wasn't. If I had to choose it would either be my incredible ability to blow shit up or to kill people. But that's what these guys were for.

He kicked I dodged, he punched I dodge, he tried to head-butt, I elbowed his face. My superior speed allowed me to toy with him for a little bit, until he got angry, he rushed me, faster than he had before. Someone weird happened.

'_No time to explain_.' I heard that voice in my head then before I knew what had happened, the demon took over the part of my body that's responsible for my reflexes, my head blazed on fire for a brief moment, my eyes turned blood red and narrowed slightly and I let out a thunderous roundhouse kick that caught Jace off guard, then as quick as it had started, it ended and I was back to my old self again.

Rose was shocked, she was stood with denial on her face, I'd beaten her lackey, or so I thought.

'Next time you're going to do that, warn me first yeah?'

'_Next time I do that, you'll already be adjusted to it, it will feel natural_.' That's just disturbing, but not surprising coming from this guy.

Rose promptly sat down again with a smile on her face. I turned to see what was happening. A low growl was coming from Jace's voice box, his vocal chords were distorting to accompany the change of his body shape, his arms extended his chest enlarged, his legs warped and a snout grew along with a full mouth of teeth as sharp as razor blades. Fur grew all over his body in huge amounts that was why Rose let him get away with his uniform, the demon was right; he is a natural hunter, a human wolf hybrid.

"Shit me, is this thing real? I always thought werewolves were just a crappy children's tale!" I shouted to where Rose was sitting.

"Completely real, the strongest of his race." Rose smirked from behind me, well I suppose if things get out of hand I can always change, but I'd rather like to avoid that if possible, as you do.

"I prefer the term 'Lycan'." He said in his new deeper truly terrifying voice.

"Right?" I have no idea how to respond to this situation, I mean, does that even merit a response?

"But you can call me the beginning of your end." How cheesy.

"Well then, bring it on Fido." Now is seriously not the time to provoke this gigantic beast, but I just couldn't help myself, you know? I thought it was funny. My body didn't afterwards but that's neither here nor there. Must get my guns, or this thing will rip me to shreds.

* * *

**Please review the story if you liked it, it keeps me going! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**meili02: Thanks, I've gone back and changed a lot of the spelling errors and changed the small chapters into sets of larger chapters**

* * *

The fight went on for a couple more minutes, I was lucky, I'd managed to dodge this beast of incredible speed and strength by marginal amounts but soon he'd catch me out and try to end me on the spot. Clip after clip was emptied into this furry beast but soon I'd have to fight him back with my fists.

That's everything, all of my bullets are either in his body or everywhere else, he's not faster than a bullet, but he is faster than me, my reflexes were taxed heavily trying to keep up with him.

"Just give in Ten, you can't beat a legendary Lycan." Rose teased from her seat. Payback time you mouthy bitch. I rand right over to where she was which caused her to frown but she didn't move, she didn't believe that I'd be able to outrun the Lycan but then I didn't need to, I jumped high and landed on the roof of the pub right as the wolf brought his hand down and destroyed the sturdy wooden table in one clean swipe.

"Shut up! I'm trying to fight this thing!" I retorted as I landed a knee in Jace's face, he wasn't expecting this which gave me a slither of chance to keep up the pressure before he recovered and beat the tar out of me. One. Two. Three. Four powerful punches right to the sternum that sent the wolf back a few meters. Out of time, he recovered, better think of something before he-

He grabbed me by the throat and slammed me down on the table that Rose had moved to.

"Orders?" He asked her, pleased with his performance.

"Well it's about time, 'legendary Lycan' it took you this long to catch an ordinary human, shame on you!" I tried provoking him, and I enjoyed every moment, every gargled word that passed form my lips was an insult to his honour.

"Execute him, in any way you see fit." Rose said sadistically. The hunter hesitated and I didn't know why, was he giving me time to change on purpose? What's his game? Maybe he wanted a better challenge, alright you got one buddy, try not to burn your hand.

"Any last words prey?" He asked me in his deep voice.

"Yeah, 'fly'." I laughed so hard I nearly burst a lung.

"Fly?" Confusion the best element for any fight.

I changed immediately, having already mastered this ability, just the knowledge and feel of it having returned to me only recently. I'm the conscious inside the demons mind now, he's the dominant one, and I'm the annoying little voice.

"Fly!" He repeated as he kneed Jace's in the stomach so hard that the impact sent him at least five meters above ground. I love it when a plan comes together and also when cocky people like Jace get felled. Fun times.

Everything in an immediate two meter radius combusted and burned and or melted to the ground. The beast was out, I remember now, I can see myself, or him, I can see what I've become. It's me, but not me at the same time. The trousers and boots turn as black as night with occasional rips and burns in them, the shirt has disintegrated completely revealing his charred grey burning skin, every now and then you can see the fiery veins housed within this demonic but powerful body. Up at the head a burn withered hood covers it's head, but not the face, no the face is clearly visible, to promote fear perhaps? Those eyes are enough send people crying with fear, as blood red as the bodies of those mercs Rose pit against me, but the worst thing about it is the grin, it knows it's being unleashed to kill, or maim. The sadist within is feeding off of this, taking every opportunity to cause pain to his victims.

He looks back and can see the look of fear in Rose's eyes, she saw this thing once before and decided that it must be put down. Her eyes, I never noticed it before but her eyes, dark brown, matching how shoulder length hair that she loved to let loose. How did I know that? Who is this woman and what had she done to me?

'Call it off, come back in, I'm pissed off enough to finish this myself.' I say to the demon, unknown to me whether he will listen or not. I doubt he'll be willing come back in now that he's off his leash.

'_If you start getting beaten down, I will emerge, and I will kill this fool.'_

'Fair enough, come back.' I feel the blood rushing back into me as I change back into myself, the evil retreating. Now I'd have to get another top, dammit. My hair regrows almost instantly, leaving me standing there in front of the three sitting down and the wolf that's now angry.

"You'll regret that." He threatens. Please, I'm angry enough to take on a god right now.

He rushed me and I stand perfectly still awaiting the precise moment to strike, as it would seem, it's me and my mind with the power of the demon. Interesting. An uppercut sends this Lycan back a few feet but I'm not as strong as the demon, but definitely as fast, both myself and Jace are back on the same level and he doesn't like that.

A flurry of punches from either side, it becomes difficult to tell who has the upper hand in this situation. Suddenly I send a kick to the back of Jace's legs that sends him to his knees and I firmly place both of my hands on his head, ready to snap his neck at an instant, but I want answers.

"Who am I?" I demand, now I'm in the right place to make demands, or so I thought.

"You will know soon enough Ten, as for my associate. Gamma, Beta, if you please." Rose words were not happy ones, I'd defeated their pet wolf and humiliated them by not even doing it with the demon.

She knew that she couldn't beat me, not today, retreat was on her mind, but before I could kill Jace Beta turned to water and Gamma bound my hands in an invisible force field preventing me from snapping Jace's neck.

Two hands emerged out of the water and grabbed Jace, sliding him back towards Gamma and Rose before Beta changed her shape and slowly reformed.

"Huh." Was all I said, I would have said some other insult but frankly I thought that was cool.

'_Telekinesis and shape-shifting; I told you they were powerful._' Yeah, I got it, thanks for telling me.

"So what can you do? Leader of freaks?" I was adding insult to injury, and what? See if I cared what she'd do. She smiled. Was that it? Death by smile? Then I noticed that my skin was breaking away, so was the blood and the muscle, she was taking my arm apart by the molecules.

'Sub-atomic control, I've got this.' The demon began repairing my arm faster than she was destroying it, I'm not going to lie the process of the two was extremely painful. My blood turned to fire, she couldn't destroy fire as easily and as soon as my arm was whole again the demon let me be.

"Let's go, Beta." On Rose's orders Beta morphed into a small oval jet that would carry the four of them to safety, probably to a much larger ship that would take them off world, assuming that their base of operations was not on Pandora.

I collapsed backwards into the now blood stained sand, that fight had left me with a decent few open wounds.

"Lilith, get me out of here." That was the last thing I said before the all too familiar black spots of unconsciousness kicked in and sent me spiraling through the darkness.

* * *

Strapped to Zed's experimenting table. This had better not become a regular thing. I woke up like this, so I suppose that makes it better in the sense that I would never agree to being tied up… Maybe.

'_What's going on?_'

'Like you care. If you wanted to you could take over and destroy this whole planet.'

'_Yes, I could'_ Why do demons have to be such ass holes all the time?

'Then why don't you!?'

'_Eh._' Since when did demons like this get personality traits? Such as being a lazy jackass, or even the ability to be funny.

"Hey buddy." Axton walked in with the biggest smile I'd ever seen him have. What's he up to?

"Ugh hi?" There's not much I could say here. I'm strapped to a table and the guy hates me. Holy shit! He fancies Maya! Oh this isn't going to be fun for my face and or rib cage.

"You know, Maya told us of your little adventure." He said with a glint of sadism in his eye.

"Oh really, that's nice, what do you want turret lover?" There's no way he won't try to harm me, maybe even kill me, so why not go along with it. Smiling of course.

"I want you to stay away from her." Protective attitude? Oh that's just perfect, I'm going to enjoy this part even more.

"Oh really?" I responded playfully as he came around my front and placed a chair not too far away.

"Really. She deserves better than some freak of nature. We ALL saw what happened in that ECHO feed. Hell, everyone else is arguing as to whether or not we should just kill you right now." Axton smiled. I obviously didn't have as much support as I'd like.

"Well that's a shame because frankly, there is no better man for her." I saw the reaction in his eyes at first, pure hatred.

"Well, fortunately for me, you haven't corrupted her yet so there's still hope." He looked down, thinking about what he would say next.

"Oh really? I guess she didn't tell you the part where we had sex as well." Obviously she hadn't but that made it all the better. She would probably tell all of her girlfriends though, but honestly, I'm OK with that. It's a guy thing. The look in his eye was murderous, he pulled his hand back and loosed it across my face.

Slapped? He slapped me? What a woman.

"Is that the best you can muster? Wow you'd be terrible without your weapons." That was quite a weak insult, but hold on, I'm just getting started, I've got some better ones on the way,

Just then Salvador walked into the room.

"Calm it down senior, we just need Zed to analyse him, why are you even beating him?" Salvador asked.

"Oh I see how it is, now that Salvador is here and being the calm one you must be playing good cop, gay cop, right?" Wrong, this time he punched, across the nose.

"Because, Salvador, he's trying to provoke me by saying he had sex with Maya." Axton punched me again, that one was pretty good to be honest, might have even broken my nose, but I sure as hell wouldn't give him any satisfaction out of this.

"Who taught you how to punch? Your husband?" That one really hit the spot, eight sequential punches across the jaw. Totally worth it. Not as worth it as Axton face after what Salvador was about to say.

"They have had sex, amigo." Salvador sat there smiling like the little troublemaker he is.

"I told you but you didn't want to hear the truth." The slow changing expression on Axton's face made all of this worth it, his happiness as he was beating my face furiously, right up to the point where he wanted to murder me. He pulled his gun on me, special Dahl issue, he got it from his time serving in the Dahl army.

"Was it worth it? Knowing how this ends?" He asked me, seriously. Roland walked in at that moment.

"Axton what are you doing no!" He demanded, but Salvador stepped in.

"No, they need to sort this out themselves." He stepped between Roland and us. This is going to be painful.

"Take off these binds and I'll tell you exactly how much it was worth it, if nothing else I would have done it all again just to see the look on your face. Priceless, but then it always is when it happens to douchebags like you." Somehow, my words had worked like a charm; he released the bonds form the table and forced me to march out of the building and into the main streets of Sanctuary. Now facing him, and most of the other raiders looking on from the HQ. Axton was making his final threat.

"So tell me now tough guy, exactly how much was it worth?" He tried to hide his worry from behind his gun, but I saw right through it.

I slowly grabbed his gun and put it right to my head. "You tell me, punk." Not my best choice of words, but it had to be said, I've got the biggest balls.

Silence, the sand on the dirty street moved slightly in the wind and all of the town's folk had stopped to watch what was happening. This was the most interesting things ever got besides the lunar bombardments every now and then.

Maya had only just joined the crowd and upon seeing what was happening she screamed. "NO!". The shot went off and the bullet shattered my skull in several places. My brain remained undamaged aside from some severe trauma that would subside shortly. Little did Axton know that I had the demon internally repairing me. I slumped to my knees with my arms dead and unmoving, like the rest of my body. My head was hung and and seemingly lifeless. I was observing the situation from the inside of my body. My mind was currently vacant, you might say that I died that day but I didn't. The demon wasn't ready to die, he kept us alive, but he didn't want to mess up Sanctuary because Maya was there, as per my request of not harming her.

Neither myself nor the demon surged for control of the body straight away, he didn't because it wasn't his time. I didn't because I wasn't able to, I wasn't strong enough. The bullet to the head reduced me to nearly nothing, a shell of my former self, but the demon was rebuilding that as well. Slowly but surely I was rebuilt and slowly filled out my body once more.

Nobody had moved, not once, Axton stood there arms by his sides, he couldn't believe that he'd just shot me in the head, to everyone else they all believed me to be dead. Moxxi and Lilith took Maya inside, away from my lifeless body that was kneeling in the middle of Sanctuary. Various curses from Roland and some of the others standing by the HQ.

A spark, a tiny little spark erupted from my heart and surged to my brain then all around my body. My blood turned to fire for a fraction of a second. It wasn't the demon turning; it was me coming back to the land of the living. I slowly rose to my feet, my veins pulsing bright orange with the colours of fire, destruction, chaos and slowly returning to their native blood red. People looked on with horror, they were coming to realise just what kind of monster I really am, but that's not me, not really, that's him, him and I are different. I hope. I stand above Axton, my expression the same, uncaring almost. I put a thumb inside the bullet wound and pull at a wrecked eight millimetre shell that had crumpled upon impact with my considerably softer skull.

"I think this belongs to you." Is all I say before pushing it into his arm with almost lightning speed. I punched that bullet into his arm so fast and hard that the bullet penetrated and began flowing freely through the now ruptured muscle tissues that used to house his arms motor functions.

Back to normality, I heal up the open bullet wound, it's left a scar but I'm not dead, there's always that. I don't want to be here right now. I want to go back to the hotel, a happy memory since before I got shot in the head, I'll deal with this lot tomorrow when I'm not so pissed off.

* * *

Being shot in the head really hurts, don't let anyone tell you otherwise, I mean if you believe absolutely anyone else that's been shot in the head, you'd have to be pretty stupid to believe it doesn't hurt; because it does!

Granted I've had some time to heal since Axton shot me, it's been three days now and nobody has found me, I guess it's time to get back up to Sanctuary. Shit! I've had my ECHO off for days now, Maya's going to be pissed off. Ah crap.

* * *

That familiar swoosh of the fast travel machine, better swing by the quick change and get a new shirt, mine was destroyed in the fight with that psychopathic wolf and considering how I've been sleeping in what used to be a skag den, I'm covered in what I hope to god is only mud. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to take a wash as well.

The quick change issued me a new shirt, they didn't really have my size but the next size down was close enough, to be fair I don't exactly expect it to last me a long time.

Smacked, right across the back of the head, so hard that my face hit the vending machine.

"Ow?" Does that even merit a response?

"You idiot! Three days you don't call her!" Considers the voice is talking in third person and sounds exactly like Maya, I can only assume it's Lilith. My suspicion was painfully confirmed when I got punched through multiple dimensions. That really hurt.

Maya came out of the raider HQ fury filling her face.

"Oh, that's not good." I say calmly right before preparing to get out of the way of her immediate destructive thought process. I can't move and my body is filled with pain. Am I phaselocked? Again?

"God dammit!" I mutter through the bubble of agony.

Axton comes out behind us and is immediately jumping to conclusions again. He fired off more than one round this time, five bullets penetrate my face like my skull was a magnet.

"What are you doing!" Lilith demanded.

"Are we not taking him down?" Axton's surprise gave me a small measure of amusement but I'm changing, the damage was too great I never even got to talk to Maya.

"I'm sorry." I utter, looking into her eyes before she drops the phaselock and the demon takes over. A fiery blasts sends those five bullets digging into the ground in a circular pattern.

'Don't kill him, just, you know, beat him up for a bit.' I ask him. We've got an understanding, as long as I say, don't kill, he won't kill, otherwise he's got free rein on anything he wants to do, it's better this way, we're not both vying for control over one body anymore, I don't have to suppress him.

'_My pleasure_.'

It's a good thing I hadn't put that shirt on yet, it's in the dirt and not burnt up, I'd prefer it if someone could pick it up but beggars can't be choosers.

The secret side of me, I never let you see, I keep it caged but I can't control it. Well, I would say that statement is now void but frankly I'm losing control again, the blood lust is too great, I'm hankering to kill something, and Axton has a six bullet track record.

The thing takes over, I'm long gone, he's in control for now, advancing towards his prey, Axton isn't terrified like he should be though, he's calm, collected and ready to brawl. Throwing down his puny turret the guy knows it's game time and the scoreboard is ready to be updated. First the turret, that might break his heart. Better leave some scrap of recognition.

All of the raiders are gathered and have already made sure than none of the townsfolk are at risk of being caught out in the crossfire of our brawl. The bullets are hitting me one at a time and never missing, which isn't tough considering the fact that he's just calmly walking towards the turret. Time's up little robot. The guy grabs it, rips it out of its base and breaks it in two by melting it with the intensity of the heat in his body. Score; six one to Axton, time to even that up a little bit more.

The guy rushed him, catching Axton's hand and breaking the handgun in his grip. Axton tries to reach for his secondary, which is odd because a pistol is usually a secondary.

'Two six to him, time to step up our game here buddy.'

'I'm well aware of the score. I'll beat him for a while.' Then the punches started flying, slowly at first, showing Axton how helpless he really is.

* * *

The guy grabbed the now battered and bruised Axton by the neck.

"Do it, end it if you must, situation reversed I wouldn't hesitate, you're a monster Ten." Axton sputtered blood on the demon's face.

"I'm not Ten." He said casually. His voice instilled fear in Axton. Good.

"You're both monsters; kill me or let me go." Axton really didn't fear death.

"He wants you alive. I don't know why, but he for some reason harbours no grudge against you planting six bullets in his skull. I would put unimaginable horrors on you. Remember that in future." God this guy was scaring me. The demon threw Axton over to where most of the raiders had sat down watching the show.

'Nice touch, now he's never going to forgive me for this.' I'm honestly not that bothered about Axton either way. The raiders however might hate me as well.

_'I did you a favour. Take it how you will, he's not going to shoot you anymore.'_

'Oh gee, well I guess that's a plus. Give me back my body, I'm going to have to explain what just happened now.' After we changed back, my muscles ached, this was the longest amount of time he'd been in charge, and I was really feeling the effects. Most of the raiders had their guns trained on me.

"So." Roland said at last as I stumbled over to where they were tending to Axton's wounds.

"Oh hey Roland, let's have that chat another time, I need rest. Hey Axton, hang in there good buddy." I laughed at the end of this in such an uncharacteristic way, it was unlike me completely, as if I'd gotten enjoyment out of inflicting the pain on Axton and like I enjoyed the pain in my own body, what does that make me? A Masosadist? Is that what my kink would be? Masosadism? Oh well. Darkness! Take me now and let me rest. I collapsed to the ground unaware of anything else that happened form then on.

* * *

Waking up in Sanctuary has proven to be quite troublesome for me in the past, most of the time I'd be strapped to an operating table, not fun, but this time I woke to see Maya running a sponge over my body. Nice.

"Hey." She brought a smile to my face, a sense of warmth. She'd broken through to me, she'd actually brought me back to civilisation. Hopefully she could keep me in check as well.

'_Tell her you love her._' Since when did this guy make jokes?

'Shut up.'

"How are you feeling?" She responded with a genuine smile.

"Sore. How's Axton?" I feel really bad, but it wasn't my fault, I mean not really, I might have been able to hold it off but not for long. The bottom line is that he shouldn't have shot me in the first place; both times.

"He's fine. Battered and bruised, but he'll be fine. No one blames you. Before he shot you the first time Zed had taken a blood sample so that he could analyse your body DNA. He couldn't see anything wrong with you biologically until he infused your blood with some powdered eridium. The results were… Fascinating at worst. Tannis has been brought in on this." Oh great. Tannis. Before I could say anything, Maya carried on.

"Roland's orders." She said, knowing full well that I wouldn't disobey a direct order. I owed them for more than just one occasion. They saved my life more specifically. Well, me and another girl. She had crazy siren tattoos as well. I suppose I should probably speak to her at some point. I mean if the raiders hadn't been there then chances are I wouldn't have been in such a bad condition but I would also probably have killed the girl; I think an apology is in order. I still got paid for the job funnily enough.

"NO! Please, Maya, anything but her, I'm begging you! Plus, I'm not with the raiders, if my only option is to abandon Pandora then god damn I will!" I said in pure fear of what Tannis had planned for me and my 'Fascinating body' as she put it. Her pick up line involved ceiling chairs. CEILING chairs!

"You WILL do this for me." Maya said sternly, going back to wet the sponge. I sighed heavily. She's already got me woven around her finger.

"Anything else you need to tell me?" There's always more, she knows I mean important things.

"Roland has been asked to keep you here as per Tannis' request so that she can study you to her fullest preference. You'll be staying here. With me." She smiled again, comforting any indecision I had before that point about being studied by Tannis. I hated it when she did that, I mean it's been a week at most and she's already got me dialled in.

"Right, OK, guess I'd better go and issue apologies where said apologies are due." No questions asked, I liked that, she's probably got things she needs to do. And so do I. Maya's room, or maybe I should say, our room. Is a small little bedroom which is one of many lined along the halfway that leads to the common room and kitchen.

Axton is sitting on the sofa, his right leg and both of his arms are in casts, he's got a neck brace, bruised eyes and some sort of bandage keeping his nose open to allow air intake.

"How's it going buddy?" I should have said it more sincerely and not half assedly but he really deserved this. He stared at me for a moment.

"I hate you." He said casually.

"You'll forgive me eventually. Just be thankful that he didn't put five in your face." I am such and ass. But nothing more needs to be said, I opened the fridge and handed Axton a beer that he could try to drink with his more moveable arm.

He will eventually forgive me but in the meantime let's go find this bandit siren girl.

She shouldn't be that hard to find right? Maybe the people in the war room will know. As I walk up the stairs I realise I'm still currently shirtless. Oh well, it's hot today and I'm not bothered about it too much. Let's just hope that there's not loads of people in the war room.

Krieg is sitting half lazily on one of the chairs fiddling with his buzz axe and eying me through his mask. Brick is leaning against the wall on the other side of the doorway. Lilith is standing arms crossed in front of the console and Roland is staring out over the balcony. This doesn't seem right.

Before I sussed it out, Krieg and Brick both restrained my arms. Little good that would do if the demon took over but whatever. If it makes them feel safer then why not?

"This seems oddly familiar." I chuckle heartily.

"Can we trust you?" Lilith is interrogating me. If I was single this would be much better. I'd be able to let loose with the sex jokes.

"Well to be honest I can't even trust myself. A few Ozzy songs pop into mind." Hehe, I amuse myself. Lilith frowned a little bit but nodded her head none the less. The two steroid junkies let me go. She obviously saw through my bad jokes.

Roland walked over seeming much happier than the rest of these depressive vaulties. "So, what do we call you now?" He asked me, smiles everywhere.

"Well, some people that are fairly interested in killing me have taken to calling me Ten despite it turning me into a fiery demon. But for all intents and purposes I may as well go back to my old call sign." Ah, the good old days.

"Your call sign?" Brick asked. Brick and Krieg were absolutely huge. I always forget how big I am until I see other people my size, how funny would it be if we got Salvador to stand between us three and Zero? Hah! I crack myself up.

"Aye. My call sign. Back when I was working freelance, me and a buddy of mine often grouped up with rookies. We always had the use of call signs to incorporate team work as we got a finishing bonus for every rookie we brought back alive. They caught us out though, they said that we had to have call signs aside from red one and red leader." I don't advise anyone to ever follow in my footsteps. I'm a consenting adult and realise how stupid slash dangerous my choices are. Warning over.

"So what did you do?" When Brick spoke to me for the first time I had become slightly confused. His voice was the depth that I would have expected but he sounded African American, but none the less I carried on.

"I got my name from a job we took on a mining facility on a frozen planet that was nearly all ice. We were at outpost Delta along a convoy track that disposed of waste ice, so naturally we were melting it. This formed a river that came right past our lookout tower. As a joke my buddy threw my nearly solid KitKat into the river and out of instinct I jumped after it. I swam for one hundred meters for a tiny scrap of chocolate. It wasn't even very nice." Their looks of disbelief turning to realisation that I'm as crazy as Krieg was priceless and made it all worth it.

"But anyway. I got the name 'Iceman' for surviving that little incident. Got paid double because the contractors found it funny. Well worth it." Good times.

"Holy shit." Lilith said, suddenly realising that I'm a badass.

"Iceman it is. Now, there's no scheduled jobs that we need you to do right now but we're preparing for the assault on Angel's chambers, go and talk to some of the others and see if they need help. We need you on the front lines going up with the first strike team to clear a path right to Angel's control core." Roland was a brilliant strategist. The team would have been led by Axton but now he's been taken out of the fight altogether. My bad.

"I won't be there slab, I've got my own war to fight, but you'll have my support." Brick said. Did he just call me slab?

'_Yes he did_.'

'Shut up, I wasn't talking to you. God, so nosey.'

"Ugh, Slab? What the hell are you talking about?" I have no idea, especially when it came down to guys like this. Krieg I could understand in the sense that he's insane, not that I can understand what he's saying or anything, but Brick is just spouting random drivel to me.

"I'm the slab king, the slabs are my bandit army." Brick looked offended.

"OK, I'll tell you what, when we take down that Handsome Jackass, I'll buy you a whole new crayon set." Very edgy, I know, but totally worth it.

"Now where's that siren, I want to talk to her." I asked, cutting Brick off before he found a reasonable come back.

"Maya or the one you haven't met?" Lilith asked.

"The latter." I confirm and before I know it Lilith grabs my arm and we've disappeared. Purple light everywhere. Oh god.

'I want to get off the rollercoaster!' The demon screams at me.

'You me both!' This is horrible, much worse that I imagines but before long we've reappeared in Moxxi's bar and I'm feeling better already. Now to talk to this siren before I get pulled away again.

"Mommy! I want to go home now!" I said as I felt my head nearly explode from disorientation.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you. It's always disorientating the first time. You were alright when you were unconscious but I guess you'll be alright now." Lilith smirked.

"Momma's boy." She said before disappearing again.

* * *

God dammit! I hate it when I'm right about things I don't want to be right about; all sirens are beautiful. Apparently there aren't any exceptions this side of the universe. She's a got this whole punk rock thing going on and god damn she does it well. Both sides of her head are shaven with a shoulder length pony tail originating from the top of her head. She looks fragile, but she definitely isn't considering the raiders found her fighting alongside bandits, giving the raiders themselves one hell of a fight. I suppose she saw sense when Hyperion joined the party and the odds got bloody.

This siren had a similar style to Lilith except what once constituted towards being counted as trousers were way too far gone, now she had some short shorts. We're talking, like Daisy Duke short. Her siren tattoos crept down her left leg as well although there were a few bits and pieces along the back of her right leg. I wasn't creeping, I'm just very observant upon first meetings, honestly.

"Hey, you're the guy who got shot in the head six times right?" A voice like sugar. What the hell? Am I attracted to every siren automatically? That's so not fair!

'_Tell her you love her_.'

'This again!? Please fuck off.'

"Ugh…" Smart move.

"I'll take that as a sign of brain damage caused by bullet wounds." She said. Wow, a smart mouth, OK.

"No, actually, it's a slight side effect from mind blowing sex with sirens. It's catching on around here and although it started about the same time that I got here, I'm sure the two aren't connected." Yeah bitch! Pickup lines for the win. Seriously though, they were pretty good right?

"Just wow." Lilith said behind me.

"I thought you left already?" I scowled.

"Just… WOW." She said, still shocked at my bluntness. I bet she secretly loved it.

"I know right? How smooth was that?" Rhetorical, a bit of sarcasm thrown in the mix for good measure. It hadn't occurred to me before but now I'm thinking about it, I can't shake the fact that I may well die of thirst very soon.

"Can I get either of you ladies a drink?" I ask as I sit down in the booth that this new siren is sitting, sipping gently at her drink; which looks a lot like Rakk ale. For some reason I have a gut wrenching hate for anything Rakk related but I have no idea why. Oh well, I'm sure it will become apparent soon.

"I don't know can you?" Lilith said cheekily. It's usually not attractive when women are smartasses but these sirens seem to pull it off naturally. Oh shit am I falling for Lilith? That's not good.

'_Power attracts_.'

'I really don't have time for your shit.'

_'Hey, I'm just saying. She's probably fallen for you already. It's going to be awkward when you all realise it.' _Such a douchebag. I have a demon inside my mind and he has to be a douchebag. That's just classic me. Oh well, better pull up the ECHO net to make myself seem less awkward.

"Hey Moxxi can I get a-" Dear god I just found a picture of Moxxi posing on the front page of the ECHO net.

"What is it sugar?" She asks tenderly as she comes over to take my order.

"Firstly I'll have two shots of tequila, and secondly, this is you right?" I show her the picture that's now enlarged on my ECHO device.

"Yes that is, enjoy." She doesn't even care. She probably put those up herself.

"Enjoy what?" I ask, wondering whether she meant the drinks or the pictures. "Both." She replied, instantly answering my questions. Ooh a topless version. Save.

Lilith sits next to this siren who's name I still haven't asked for. But that will have to wait, I've just realised that Lilith never gave me time to get a new shirt, no wonder these girls have been staring at me. Almost hungrily. No, I'm joking, that just made me feel better about my ugly ass self is all.

"Lilith, can you do me a favour? You know, seeing as you can teleport anywhere instantly." My logic is solid. Plus who would deny me of something as menial as finding my shirt?

"Depends what." She answered lazily.

"The second shot is yours if you can go and get my shirt that was last left in the dirt before I physically broke Axton." Rub it in, I can't help it, my dominance must be laid down.

"Sure." Who wouldn't do that given the circumstances? She disappears and reappears soon after with my plan black shirt that's now got what looks to be a claw strike right down the centre.

"Sorry, Krieg used it for an 'Axe slingshot' idea he was working on. It didn't work. Like at all. He just crunched himself in the face which was admittedly hilarious." She hands me the shirt but I've already fallen in love with the slightly small torn shirt, maybe this one will last longer if I try to keep it intact. Maybe not.

"Hmm, cool." I'm browsing things on the ECHO market, there is literally so much stuff that you can buy, the list is endless. There's everything here. Moxxi places the two tequila shots on the table in front of me and I slide one towards Lilith who waits for me to raise my glass.

"To good times." She says like we've known each other for years.

"To good times to come." I correct her as we take down the shots like bottled water.

"Moxxi, another round please." Lilith announces. "You want in Fuse?" Fuse? That's her name? Fuse? Does she have a short temper? That could be a problem but that admittedly does sound rather handy in combat, can you imagine me walking into a group of bandits then randomly going off? The looks of horror on their faces, classic.

"Sure, why not. Moxxi! Make it three my love." My love? Is this chick a lesbian? I got nothing against lesbians. I mean besides the fact that I can't talk to them like I normally would. It just doesn't have the same effect it does on straight women.

She's noticed my expression at her latter statement. "Bi-sexual, actually." Did… Did she just read my mind?

"Right, very creepy. Your name is Fuse? Is that because; you're explosive?" I asked, making sure that I began a flirting theme towards the end of it. Both sirens eyed me cautiously. I've been accepted into the raiders for less than a day and here I am getting slammed with them.

'_Nope. You're just easy._'

'I swear to god I will drive us off a cliff if you keep this up.'

'_Doesn't bother me_.'

"Fine! I'll let Tannis study our brain, how's that jackass!" Did I just say that out loud. Oh dear.

'_I'll behave, I swear! I'm shutting up now!"_

"Who are you talking to?" Lilith is having second thoughts about my mental stability.

"The other guy. He's strong enough to be clearly spoken within my mind." I sighed, this would either go down really badly, or people would just have fun with it.

"So you could like intermediate a conversation between us? Cool, ask it if I look attractive." Lilith asked, hands on the table and leaning forward. I thought she was dating Roland though?

'_I got that impression as well. I'd still do her._'

"Are you not dating Roland?" I ask her in confusion. 'Hey, you reckon she'll be open to a threesome?' The thought almost made me laugh out loud.

'_Ask her, you may as well. Don't ask don't get.' _Yeah, no. I'm not asking her that.

"We're on a break at the moment. You know, tension is high what with Hyperion up our collective asses all the time." She does look tense, but surely having a partner would help with that. But I suppose worrying about said partner would be worrying. Holy shit, not once have I thought about Maya's safety. I'm a terrible human being.

'_I can help with that Hyperion problem. Just let me loose._'

"Well, firstly he said he'd 'do you' and secondly he said he can help with the Hyperion problem." I don't like where this is going because it's more than likely that they'll agree with HIM.

"How exactly?" Fuse asked me. Now that we'd made eye contact I could definitely tell you that she's far more attractive than I first thought. I'm not saying she's more attractive than Maya, but that's because, you know; I'm sleeping with her. But that's beside the point.

"Well, you're not going to like it. And I should probably explain this to Roland at the same time." From there we called Roland down to our little club social of drinking and discussing potential plans of attack.

* * *

**Please review the story if you liked it, it keeps me going! :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

* * *

Something's wrong. Very wrong. I can feel someone else's energy. He's standing in the doorway to Moxxi's. Jace, the werewolf guy, no, what was the name? Lycan? That's it. He's in a suit, what's he up to? Suing me or something.

"Get going before I make a winter coat out of you." I threaten as I stand at the ready to put twelve rounds of .44 magnum bullets in this sick puppy.

"I'm simply here to issue you a warning Ten." He's really in over his head if he thinks he can take me here. I can't feel the other people from his squad.

"Is Rose close?" I ask him. Not that he'd tell me if she were to be honest.

"No, they've gone back to our ship. Our off world ship. The DM's are much bigger than you know. We're over fifty strong. No rookies. These are all people who could wipe Pandora off the map forever. And there's over fifty of us. So here's the deal. You come with me, and we let this planet go back to its own dingy business." A suit? Really? Well at least I know he really didn't come to fight me. He'd look ridiculous as a wolf in those pants. Pinstripe? Really? They don't suit him at all.

"And if I decide to go down fighting you'll what? Destroy this planet as well? I don't think so. I'll kick your ass again and again until you get the picture." Wow, I'm alpha as hell right now.

"As you wish. Like I said, I have no desire to fight with you. That bitch of a captain told me to give you this file. She said that you really do have Psychogenic retrograde amnesia." What now? Better say something smart.

"So give me a lollypop. What's in the file?" Do I really want to know? Probably not. Note to self; ask Tannis and or Dr. Zed what Psychogenetic renegade animalism is.

'_Psychogenic retrograde amnesia, dumbass.'_

'Not now!'

"Just read it. Hopefully it will unlock all of those forgotten memories. And if you do find out why I of all people am being tasked with killing you. Please tell me. Because it's not something I want to do. If you figure out you need me. I'll be staying out at the Torgue incorporated gladiator arena. Come find me when you're not thinking about killing me." Pretty suave I must say. I bet he's a hit with the ladies.

"Fine, now get going, you're not welcome around here. And get a better suit!" I shouted out as he promptly left through the fast travel station.

"What's all that about?" Roland asked me. I'm sure he saw the video feed Angel relayed through the raider headquarters.

"The video feed Angel got you from me fighting the people I've been pursuing. That's the wolf." I explain casually. Hoping to get a few more drinks before opening that file.

Moxxi waltzed over in her naturally seductive way. "Thanks for getting rid of him calmly sugar, I saw the video you're talking about, that guy would have done a real number on the place, free drinks tonight." Moxxi has developed quite a habit of offering the raiders free drinks. Unluckily for her, she has three main customers who are more than experienced with drinking.

Me, coming in last in this competition of Iron Liver, then there's Mordecai, real Rakk ale fan, the guy drinks a couple of gallons of the stuff a fortnight but frankly he's got nothing on Salvador who could drink us all under the table, in one go.

Well, I guess there's no more putting it off, better check out this case file. Interesting, its listings of active members of the Death's Messengers for a resupply operation sanctioned on a planet dubbed 'Rakkeria'. That can't be right; I'm listed as sub officer. How is that possible? I've never served in the Legionnaires. I've always been freelance.

The rest of the crew that appeared in the Rakkeria case file were the other three that were with Rose the other day. So they weren't just an ordinary merc outfit. I've somehow served with these people in combat. That doesn't explain why they want me dead.

'Rakkeria was a total loss. Sub officer Ten went rogue and killed three rookie Death's Messengers in a rage fuelled fight with captain Rose. Jace was nowhere to be found. Total loss of life in settlements Delta through Kilo; one hundred percent. The extermination of the dying colonies was executed as per Captain Rose's orders. The aforementioned order was disobeyed by sub officer Ten followed by an announcement of resignation. Captain Rose and Ten took to the skies in hand to hand combat.'

Wow, that's heavy. I don't have any reason to believe this though. I wouldn't call myself a humanitarian but I think I'd merit disobeying orders if they were solely to kill people to save resources.

'_I remember it now.'_

'You do?'

_'Think Ten, think, back to Rakkeria, remember how truly powerful we were. You must remember.'_

'It's all a bit much at the moment… It seems familiar.'

The memory of having power is seeping back into me alongside all those missing memories from my past. Right up until Rose captured me and stuck me in the hospital that I ruined not too long ago. She was the one who forced my memory loss. Why? She didn't want to kill me that's why. We were an item you might say. I can't remember for sure, but I had something she needed but I was still too valuable to kill so she wiped my memories and let me loose on Pandora.

"THAT BITCH!" I shouted in pure unfiltered rage. Nobody dared say anything for fear of setting me off.

"I remember it." I remember it. The memories flooding back. Oh my god, we're we flying?

'_Yes._'

'Well… Can we still do that? I mean, can I fly? Like on my own, without turning into you?'

'_You never mastered it, but you had the ability_.'

'Bitching, how do I learn?'

'_Let me unleash our full power. The process with put us out cold for several days. During which time it's not unlikely for me to take over and go on a senseless killing spree. So you know, might not want to stay around here_.'

'Thanks for letting me know I guess.'

As I explained everything as best I could I decided that I needed to let the demon do his thing, and I needed to be as far away from Maya just in case things went wrong. I'm sure that if the demon came here the raiders would be able to stop him… Probably… Maybe. Time to say my goodbyes; this kind of thing changes a person and not always for the better. My mind could end up as shattered as Krieg's.

I guess I should get prepared in order to help the raiders with their Hyperion problem. I mean I'm one of the raiders now and Handsome Jack is getting to be quite a pain in the ass. I've just realised how completely under furnished Maya's room is. There is literally just a bed a desk and a lamp. Right, time to spend some big bucks on the ECHO net.

* * *

OK so I got bored of searching that absolutely endless market place and bought a guitar that was selling for just under ten thousand which is not that expensive for a guitar. Especially one that's going to Pandora. You would have thought it'd be a good idea to get insurance on anything you buy but when you get items shipped to Pandora you don't get insurance you just get a reduced price which is fair enough.

This new guitar has a sleek black outer coating with flames bordering on the inside of the body. How appropriate. The shape of the guitar is just awesome frankly, it's got four spikes ending the curves on each side as opposed to those gay little handle parts. Maybe Gaige can give this girl a bit more kick.

"Hey Gaige where you at?" I ask casually over the ECHO net. Our strike on Control Core Angel isn't scheduled for another two days. Playing the waiting game is dangerous but we need everyone at full strength. I still haven't done what the demon wants and unleashed our full potential but then I really don't want to unless I absolutely have to.

"My workshop whaddya need buddy?" For an eighteen year old she's got the talk of an adult and the foul mouth of a sailor. It makes me laugh on regular occasions.

"I'll drop by." I answer. Since coming here Gaige had taken over the top floor of Scooter's garage. She had the logic to support her claim as well. Scooter no longer had any particular use of the garage since he couldn't drive any of his cars off the height of Sanctuary. Or at least he couldn't do it and survive, so Scooter let Gaige transform the top deck of the garage into her own personal workshop.

As I open the door something completely unexpected happened. "Grenade!" Someone shouts. Who the hell is that? No time, I'm not explosive resistant at all. I throw the grenade back in the door in a hurry then brace my body against the door, this is going to hurt. The grenade shook the door off its hinges so violently that I fell back with it.

"Ouch." I even struggled to say that. I'd pretty much just taken a grenade to the back.

"Oh, uh sorry about that." This new voice said. It seems friendly enough and I would respond in a friendly manner. Usually. But usually strangers don't lob grenades at me on first encounters.

"Gaige?" I ask trying to remain calm.

"Yes?" She responds solemnly.

"Want to explain why this pre-pubescent green guy just threw a grenade at me?" Something about that sentence didn't seem right. Oh yeah the green skin part. What the hell? Was he dropped in a vat of acid as a kid?

_'Ooh! See if he has super powers! Quick punch him in the face!_' The demon starts as I get onto my knees wearily.

'He's like Gaige's age. But much weaker. It'll probably kill him. Plus he's a kid, who the fuck punches children?' Eighteen, whatever.

An awkward silence filled my mind before the demon made a fake cough.

'You know, if I wasn't so certain that you came from Hell in the first place I might say that you're going to spend eternity there but you already know that.'

'_Yeah… We've killed a lot of people_._' _The sad thing is that he's right, we really have.

"Hi! I'm Gen." He just put his hand out to shake mine. What. The. Fuck. This is Pandora kid, better wise up quickly.

_'Spit in your palm then shake his hand_.'

'How are you so screwed up!?'

_'Go on, just for shits and giggles.'_

"Gen as in gender bender?" Sorry kid, I couldn't help it.

'_Oh that's much better than what I thought off_.' I'm going to ignore you now, nothing personal, well actually it is personal, you annoy the hell out of me, now shut up.

"Gen as in generation. Why does everyone pick on him?" Gaige exasperated.

Gen smiled, between names and having green skin he's probably got the temperament of a god.

"It would actually be the same if you're talking about how it's spelt but I'm not in fact a gender bender. I have green skin, that doesn't mean I'm a transvestite or transexual." That's fair enough, but I haven't seen you around here much, I'm still going to have a little bit of fun for a while.

"So… Why did you just throw an explosive ordinance at me and why are you in Gaige's workshop. She never lets anyone in here, unless. Oh my god, you two are dating!" Hehehehehehe, such a trouble maker.

"I told you people would figure it out!" Gen shouted over to where Gaige was fitting a new armour plate onto Death-Trap.

"Shut up! Ten please keep this on the down low." She hadn't even finished talking before I'd sent a message to everyone on my ECHO contacts list.

"Ugh whoops." I said sheepishly.

"What have you done?" She asked menacingly. It's hard to take things seriously when your being threatened with a monkey wrench.

"I ugh." I ugh-never got to finish my sentence because Lilith popped on the ECHO.

"Gaige and Gen are going out? Hah knew it! Maya! You owe me one hundred bucks!" They made bets?

"You told everyone? Ugh, you jackass." Gaige dismissed it, there was no point in sicking DT on to me now.

"So ugh, anyway I did come down here to ask you a favour." I'm not sure she'll help me out now.

"Forget it."

"On a building project." I know your weakness senorita Gaige.

"Go on." Hah! Nailed it.

"Well, It's a simple task that you can probably do in a matter of minutes. My new guitar. Can you give this girl a bit more kick?" Of course she can, she can do anything. She's like mechanical Jesus! I don't have the faintest idea where I got that comparison from though so just let it go.

"Easy." Gaige pulled a small screwdriver out of what seemed like thin air and pop came the back panel, no less than two minutes later she handed me the guitar back. It had a customized panel of buttons and other things that I didn't trust touching. She's even had time to airbrush it black. I mean what!? Who has time for that?

"Gaige. Ugh, I can play nearly anything with strings but um, what the hell did you just attach to my guitar?" Even I have no idea what that is but it looks cool.

"Think of it as an overlord panel. You've got four knobs attached to the guitar as it it, that's pretty basic control of the sound of your output. Now you've got nearly one hundred percent control."

Jesus Christ! What did she do to my guitar? She makes it sound like she's rewired the whole thing into pure musical value. Just kidding, that's my job.

"I'm going to call him Optimus Prime!" I shouted with glee before calming down and looking back to her.

"Gaige. You're the best. See you two love birds later." Before I ran out of the door Gen threw another grenade at me. It didn't seem to go off straight away so I assumed that it was a dud.

"Hah a dud!-"

'_No! It's not a_-' The grenade was a remote detonation. Clever kid. I just got a face full of highly compressed rogue lightning bolts.

'_It's not a dud. You dumbass. I felt that._' I'm mature enough to let that one go. For today. Time to go play my new super powered guitar. Behold people of regularity and no musical prowess. Behold the sweet tunes of the legendary Hendrix!

* * *

"Ten?" Is someone calling my name? It sounds like it, unless they're shouting random numerical values which wouldn't be surprising not with Zero hanging around here anyway. Ah Zero. Now that most of my memories have returned to me I'm starting to remember the lesser details of my time with the Legionnaires. I had a whole network of contacts. One of my better information leads this side of the universe was a man dubbed as 'The Shadow.' Of course it was Zero but it still has a nice ring to it. Just rolls off the tongue.

With my power growing all the time I'm starting to dissect tiny parts of reality. Maybe I'm just going insane but every now and then I see tiny slithers in the air, things that shouldn't be there. Like the distortion field that Zero uses with his sneaking suit. I tried to reach out to one of them today. It shrivelled before fading completely. Next time I'm going to grab it and tear a whole in reality, you know, because I probably could.

My guitar is overpowered as hell. I have no idea how Gaige managed all of these upgrades in a couple of minutes, but she did. There's even a switch which changes up whether you want clean sound or a more gritty, distorted sound. Good for heavy metal.

"Ten?" Who the hell is that? I could have sworn that after the green guy I've met everyone here. I'm not waiting around I want an answer now. "Angel, who is that?" I ask, hoping to get an answer nearly straight away.

"That's Astor, he's the only other guy with a service record as impressive as yours. He's been with Roland since their old Crimson Lance days. He helped the last vault hunters open the vault and now he's a leader with the Crimson Raiders in the effort to take down Jack." Thanks Angel, but it still begs the question of how the hell I haven't met him yet.

Astor came into view, he's a bit smaller than me but he looks just as experienced. Heavy weapons specialist by the looks of things. He's got a mark five Hyperion automatic assault rifle across his back, below that what looks like a custom Hyperion shotgun, fully auto, wouldn't like to be on the receiving end of that. Ever. Attached to the plate covering the small of his back is a Maliwan double barrelled fire rocket launcher. That looks really powerful.

'_Try not to piss this guy off._' Yeah, I'll try to bear that in mind.

"Ah there you are, I'm-" Time to show off for a little bit.

"Astor. Been alongside Roland since the dispersal of the Crimson five years ago. Took down the giant tentacle monster hidden in the vault alongside Roland, Lilith, Mordecai and Brick. Been with the Raiders ever since and currently operating as a commander in the effort to take down Hyperion with hope that will ultimately lead to the untimely demise of Handsome Jack." Wooh, extra points right there. The look on his face is priceless, jaw dropped and everything.

"Holy. Shit." I know right?

"How did you?"

"Angel told me most of it, the rest I guessed." I admitted. No sense in hiding the truth behind that little bit off fun because out of everything and knowing my luck, this guy would go around saying that I'm psychic. I'm not. Ladies don't go thinking that, because seriously, I don't know what colour shoes you want me to agree with, OK? Good.

"Look, I've got things to do, so if you just wanted an introduction I've really got to be off, if you need something done just ask." Simple enough right?

"I'm in charge of gaining war assets. So basically anything or anyone that could help us with the war effort."

"Jesus Christ. War effort? Don't be so depressive, let's just call it what it is; An appointment for an ass kicking. Jeez this isn't a war. This is a personal feud. This is corporate greed at its core. Rant over, what do you want?"

_'A better haircut probably._' Shut up dude, I'm not in the mood for your wise cracks right now. This could actually be important. Though it's probably not.

"A pirate captain. Captain Scarlett. I've made contact with her. She's said that if you help her gain possession of a legendary treasure stockpile then she'll help out. She's currently in command of a giant hovering vessel full of pirates." Wow, never met any pirates before, this could be fun. Astor hands me a folder, presumably the assignment details.

"You can take others with you, we can't spare everyone though. Roland and Lilith are currently on a mission. Brick and Salvador are wrestling other bandit clans for control over some territory in thousand cuts so apart from those four you can take anyone you want." God, this guy is so by the book.

"This is your op but it's still a good idea to pick a tactically strong team." That's good to know I suppose. Who do I 8pick.

"Hey Moxxi, you wanna' come with me on an assignment?" I ask her over a private ECHO connection.

"Sure thing sugar, it'll be nice to get out for a bit. Just tell me when and where."

"OK, you'll hear the announcement." Moxxi. Why? Because she's fit. Don't judge me. Hmm that should be everyone that specifically needs asking. Time to make my announcement.

"Krieg, Astor, Maya, Gaige and Moxxi please be at the fast travel station in twenty minutes." That is one hell of a strike team.

'_Try not to stare at Moxxi too much. You made the mistake of inviting both her and your girlfriend. They're both going to be fighting for your attention. Even if they don't know it.'_

'Will you shut up? You've been playing the smartass all day. If I let you out on some bandits when we get there will you behave?'

_'In theory.'_

'In theory? What the hell does that mean?'

'It means that I'll behave so long as you don't purposely call upon me to reach our full power. Your call.' I hate it when he has leverage, a strong point and solid logic. It's just not right. Off to the fast travel, everyone has already gathered. I expected Moxxi to be late what with having to find suitable arrangements for her bar but as it happens she has a pre-set deal with Hammerlock. I have no idea what she bribed him with, and as far as I'm aware he's into men. But I've been wrong before.

"Angel, where are we heading?" I ask calmly.

"Oasis. You need to head to the town of Oasis, form there you will need to call upon the assistance of Sand Skiffs to transport you to the Buccaneer where Captain Scarlett will be waiting for you." Captain Scarlett? Oh great, just my luck another colour that resembles red, first Rose now Scarlett. I bet they're related, and I bet they'll both try and sleep with me and or kill me. Probably both because that's the kind of world Pandora is.

* * *

"Is that a band of those Crimson Raiders coming into Oasis?" A voice came on over the ECHO but I'm not entirely sure she realises that she's broadcasting to us.

"Quite an attractive group to be fair. Ah Moxxi. I wondered when she'd come crawling back to me." The woman said smugly. Nobody said anything, just gave Moxxi some funny looks.

"Ooh, look at those men. They'd make some strong officers. Strong, muscular and good looking. I like what I see." Yup the voice belonged to Captain Scarlett alright. I told you she'd want to sleep with me.

"Don't you dare." Maya said as if reading my mind. I glanced over the landscape lazily. Assessing where she could be spying on us from.

"We're going to need eyes in the sky. DT will be too suspicious. You're going to have to come up with something fast." Astor said to me. A tactician like Roland and Axton. You really had to have one of those three in your group if you were doing a dangerous op.

"OK, I'll try and do this thing the demon said I could do." I say, not remembering how much I've told everyone. I may have let slip that I can potentially fly, I may not have. It makes little difference.

"That doesn't sound healthy." Gaige said cautiously. Smart girl.

"Don't worry about me." I say, reassuring everyone.

"I meant for us." She adds. Very smart.

"It has nothing to do with the demon itself." I add, not looking anyone dead on in case they saw right through my blatant lies.

_'You liar.'_

'Oh come off it. How do I fly then?'

'_It will be much harder since you only vaguely remember your fight with Rose.'_

'So? What? I have to remember fighting Rose? Let's see how did it go?'

_'We refused to help destroy the colonist villages.'_

'Then she confronted us, yeah I remember. Traitors are our highest targets. Those were her exact words.' Psychotic bitch.

'_She said; let it be, then punched you through a house.' My shoulder began to burn in pain with the memory that we were building._

'The building began to shake as we passed our combined power through my body. We became a hybrid?'

_'Yes. More powerful with the both of us combined. We must become this hybrid to unlock our full potential, that was the unleashing act I spoke of.'_

'Straight forward, I like it, so how do we do it?'

_'It's a pretty simple process. You know how you feel stronger when you tense up? Same process except for beings like us we actually get more powerful. We have to do this at the same time. When we get to a certain point the transformation will happen.'_

'That sounds hardcore. So I have to stand here and tense?'

_'You might look like an idiot so try shouting, that makes it seem more awesome.'_

'What if that makes me seem more like a complete moron though?'

'_I will push bouts of fire through your body making it visually look like something is changing.'_

What will we become? Who will be in control?

_'A mixture of the two of us. You've grown strong enough recently to fade out my murderous blood rage. It will be a mixture of both of our greatest qualities. My mastered flying ability. A majority of your mind. A smarter and much stronger being. Are you ready?'_

"I'm ready." I say out loud giving the people around me a chance to move away. When everyone has cleared and I assume my tensing position I begin silently.

"What is that handsome one doing? And why have his mates left his side?" Captain Scarlett asked over the ECHO.

"You know we can hear everything you're saying right?" I reply over the ECHO.

"Oh. I, ugh. Right. So… What brings you to Oasis?" She asks, keeping the conversation civil.

"We're here to meet with you." I reply in confusion. I thought she was aware.

"To meet with me? Oh that's right, I was offered something or other in exchange for help against Hyperion, fun! But that doesn't explain what you're doing standing there like an idiot." She said.

God dammit, I told you!

"I'm reassuring that you don't screw us over." I say, the tensing is taxing my voice immensely, the demon is holding up his side of the bargain, he's purging searing fire pits out of my skin, actively changing certain parts of my body. I'm fairly certain that he has to do this anyway for his conscience to be present during the merging. My eyes, I can see how he sees. My vision is sharp, a slight blood red tint but I assume this is how demons see the world. I can see the outline of what I would regularly see. But I also see the world how it would be in Hell.

Fire reigns the sky. Water has turned to blood. And then everything has changed. This is the merging starting to work. I can choose between different versions of reality. The tensing is starting to work, a pain shoots through every fibre in my beings but I can't shake the horrible feeling of pleasure as I turn that pain into the pain of others. The power begins to seep into me and I no longer feel like myself. A shared body. A shared mind. I'm no longer just one person. We are the hybrid.

Energy is visible. The hybrid is so powerful that he's got crackles of electricity running around his body. The eyes both red but a normal shape. The skin, no different from that of Ten's natural body colour. This hybrid is the culmination of power between two beings of unbeatable strength and speed, the hybrid is no longer bound by gravity as is obvious as it's currently floating a few feet off ground. The ECHO net is listed as unavailable, probably due to the fact that a surge of electrical energy destroyed it completely.

This being does not distinguish anyone as friend or foe yet. He does not judge before a reasonable response. Ten's reasoning and logic.

"Ten, sugar are you still there?" Moxxi asks from behind cover, her sights trained on the hybrid.

"We are not Ten." It replied, a strange mixture of Ten's gravelly voice and the demon's spine chilling deep tone. The two voices cancel each other out. No fear from the demon and no strained voice box form Ten. If it wasn't truly terrifying the voice could be considered calming.

"The demon?" Astor asks, standing up straight showing no fear of attack from the hybrid.

"We are not the demon." It says as confidently as the first time.

"What are you? What do we call you? Are you friend or foe?" Gaige asked. Her shotgun was aimed directly at the hybrid's head.

"We are the hybrid. We prefer you do not decide on a name until the demon has one. We do not see you as a threat, therefore through contact of a contributing party. We are designating ourselves as ally to your mortal cause." The hybrid says. He speaks in a higher power kind of way. Like speaking to these people is too much effort.

"Mortal cause? You aren't mortal?" Maya asks. Their weapons have been holstered now that they are aware there is no threat.

"We are immortal. The demon cannot be killed outside of combat. Ten is an exception. The culmination of the two contributors make us immortal." The hybrid continues with great confidence.

"Oh my god, well that's changed my plans significantly. Tell you what, we need your help in recovering the treasure of the sands. And the only man who can safely get you over here is about to be attacked. So go help him out would you?" Captain Scarlett asked openly.

"We will contact you again once we have the means to reach you." Astor confirmed with a hand gesture.

"The contact does not know that we are flight capable?" The hybrid asked Astor directly, making him a little bit uncomfortable.

"Clearly not. Let's just go and save this guy." Astor commanded. Since Ten couldn't actually give the order himself due to probably dying of indecision with the demon first, Astor was acting authority on the matter.

"As you wish." The hybrid stated before planting both feet firmly on the ground and slowly striding to where the pirates were setting up defences against their unbeatable opponent.

* * *

"Angel! Share the video feed from our collective ECHO devices with everyone!" Maya shouted. This was intense. The power emanating from the hybrid was palpable. It truly was something crazy, everyone could feel it affecting them.

"Oh my god, what the fuck is that?" Axton said, clearly taken back by this physical mesh of the two people that had put him in the state he was in.

"That's both of them sharing." Moxxi replied as she herself took cover behind a rocky outlet to avoid being shot at by the bullets that whizzed around the hybrid.

"A force field? He has a fucking force field?" Gaige shouted, displaying her sailor's vocabulary.

The hybrid surged it's immense power and went full pelt at the badly made barricade releasing a blast of fire that seemed more like pure energy dispersing from its clutched hand. Incredible. The demon wasn't lying, even though we were sharing one mind and one body I could feel my power contributing alongside his, mine was growing at an alarming rate and soon enough we were on par with each other. Exactly what he wanted, he said that we had to have a synced strength for our abilities to drain back into us. And at that precise moment the hybrid effortlessly kicked a grenade that had been launched at it, straight into the sky. We're talking a full home run.

'_I think it may be time to split. We're spending too much time merged.'_ I didn't want to argue with the demon, but my memories were flowing back at such an alarming rate. This was it, I remember what I'd done to piss Rose off so much. It wasn't Rakkeria. It was something else. Something Jace didn't know about. God I hope Maya never has to hear this.

OK let's split.

We both surged ourselves at different times, disrupting the hybrids in synchronous behavioural patterns and quickly reverting back into me, not the demon. Interesting. I must have been stronger to come out on top. I'm not even tired. I'm powerful, but I still want to use my guns, I'm far more proficient at making heads explode with my guns rather than my fists. I do however want to try flying. The hybrid was hovering before, he was never really flying. But I could. I just have to focus.

"Hey guys, guess who's back!" I shouted in my unique jackass kind of way but when I turned back towards the town of Oasis I got a shocking punch to the face that sent me to my ass faster than a boulder in water.

"This one is mine." I said with poison behind my words.

"Come on then little guy." The bandit challenged me. "Your mistake pendejo." I say with a smile as we both adopt a combat stance and ready ourselves for our fist fight.

'_Pendejo? Since when were you Salvador?_' I'm going to ignore that, and you for as long as possible.

He swung first but I anticipated it and sent an uppercut to his armpit that broke his shoulder.

"Holy shit I'm strong!" I exclaim in shock at how easily it was to break this man's first offence, but the fight wasn't over yet.

He sent out a jab at my face which I was sure was going to make contact but then my reflexes resumed their legendary status before I had gotten weak, reality slowed for a fraction of a second but it was enough for me to dodge and counter the attack. It wasn't reality slowing down, it was me speeding up. I moved my head to the side with ease, like the stumbling giant was just a clumsy tool. He couldn't believe how I'd manoeuvred my face out of the way of his brick breaking fists, but it didn't matter, before he could register it the fight would be over.

I kicked once in the side of his left knee bringing him down on it and before dropping my leg I let out another kick to the ribs. If left alone for long enough the splinters from his rib cage would eventually penetrate his heart and kill him, but I didn't have that kind of time. While he was falling to the ground I went round to his side and grabbed his neck in such a way that a small applied force in the opposite direction of his momentum would snap it cleanly. A little bit of force was an understatement. The amount needed was tiny, so obviously I went in overkill with the hardest snap I could muster, which with my strength make a sound that almost make me puke.

It wasn't by any means a clean snap, the core of his neck bone snapped but I twisted his head at an odd angle half way through causing the bone to splinter at every millimetre, coupled with the force I'd applied, his neck looked like a small grid with white and red bone splinters puncturing his skin everywhere.

That felt good, and that's what was worrying, I want to do it more, I need to sate my bloodlust. This is that primal monster that I am, completely aware but with an undying need to do this. I need more enemies that I can break down slowly and right before the end, show them how helpless they were in the first place.

"Feel better?" Gaige asked as she walked up to me, weapon holstered.

It felt so much better than it should. I really am a monster. Time to go and see a guy about some sand skiffs.

* * *

**Please review the story if you liked it, it keeps me going! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**damla22.02 Thanks for your support on this story :D**

* * *

'I want to fly. But how do I do it?'

_'Pretty much just tense up your core and push off the ground.'_

'Right, but surely it's not that simple?' There's got to be more to it.

_'Nope. It's that simple. I can do it again. You'll get the hang of it eventually.'_

"I wonder if I can fly." I say out loud so that I can get the opinion of the people around me first.

"If you fly, I'll never be able to catch you and throw you onto the bed anymore." Maya said without even the slightest bit of sarcasm which made everyone look at us, waiting for my reply.

She gave me a look as if surprised that I hadn't yet come up with one. I pointed my finger at her and opened my mouth for a reply but shortly closed it and instead tensed my whole body as hard as I could like the demon said and pushed. I shot into the sky. I thought that because it would be new to me that I wouldn't be able to go high or fast but no, that's not what the demon meant. He means that I have absolutely no control which is true, I basically just took a gigantic jump into the cliff face.

"That looks like it hurt." I hear Gaige say from below. It did little one, it really did.

"I'm fine." I lied. That really hurt.

_'Told you is was simple. Try to rebalance yourself once you're in the air and instead of crashing try landing softly next time, I felt this one.'_

'Shut up, I've got this!'

I'm lying of course, this will take a lot of practice.

I did exactly what I had done before except now I focused downwards instead of up and I shot towards the ground faster than I wanted. UP! UP! Good, I've stabilized myself a good few meters above the ground. This really works your abs.

"Oh my god." Moxxi said in complete amazement.

"He can actually fly." Maya said less impressed and a measure more annoyed.

"You may kneel and praise the lord of the sky." I laughed heartily before I landed much softer than before. Landed, keyword right there, notice I didn't say crashing.

* * *

We're nearly at the Buccaneer, Cap'n Scarlett's vessel. I can see it from the red canyon ridge that we're passing now. The guy that we got these skiffs from is a right weirdo, goes by the name of 'Shade'. I honestly think he believes that we didn't notice the dead bodies were actually dead and just had voice recordings of him stuck to them. So there's no water in Oasis what so ever. What do you know? I've been trying to fly more and more, and nearly fell off the skiff this one time. Anyway, nearly at this pirate captain, I think Roland arranged for us to do something for her in order for her to help us out. Hopefully not sexual favours. Unless she's hot.

"Would she be into that?" I wondered out loud.

"Into what?" Maya asks picking up on my tone straight away.

"Sexual favours. From ugh, someone other than myself of course." Close call… She didn't buy it. At all.

"Yeah, no. You're not going anywhere near other women buddy." Maya was half joking but deep down I think she really was bad at sharing her possessions.

"Hey Moxxi, what would you say to a threesome?" I asked.

_'Yay!'_

'Oh no, you aren't getting anything dude, this is mine.'

_'You, me, eh makes no difference. Same memories more or less.'_

Sneaky.

"You and Maya hey? That's an interesting proposition. I'd say yes." Moxxi quickly glanced towards Maya checking her expression, then quickly recovered.

"Hypothetically of course." Before she got back to searching the ECHO net for whatever it was she was searching for. When you take a mission with the raiders, it's often high pay-out and Moxxi hadn't gotten large sums of money in rapid succession for quite a while, so no doubt she was already searching for ways to expand her bar, good investments were always Moxxi strong point outside the sexual area.

Maya gave me a few evils after that.

"What? You don't ask you don't get." I said casually. She was going to punish me for a while after that.

_'You stole that from me.'_

'You have no proof of that.' Or does he? Nope, he doesn't.

"And you expect that you're going to get something from me and Moxxi?" Maya was teasing me, she's not angry. This should be good.

"Expecting might be a strong word, but it would be a nice change of pace." I say, imagining all the things that would come out of an event with these two. Moxxi had a reputation of being amazing, and I know first-hand that Maya is an absolute animal. Double the trouble, triple the fun the right?

Moxxi and Maya both exchanged looks before Maya came back around. "You might get lucky." She said vaguely. Even though, let's face it, given the topic that's hardly vague at all.

"How exactly?" I'm really pushing my luck here but it's their fault.

"We'll leave that to your imagination." Moxxi said before they both turned away from me and ignored me the rest of the way.

"What?" Silence. "Oh come on! That's just not fair!" I plead but still they ignore me. Fine, you want to play it like that.

On the other sand skiff Astor is driving but snickering. Is my ECHO on? It is, that's fine, I don't care what they hear. Gaige is red in the face, she's a little young to be hearing this kind of thing, much less to be going around doing anything I said. I was going to say why would she be doing that kind of thing, but firstly it would be hypocritical of me and secondly she's eighteen, legal age right?

"Well, if that's how you want to play it Maya, just remember that power attracts power. Angel, sync my ECHO video feed to everyone." I said teasingly.

I wound up my legs and felt the tension increase tenfold before I released all of my energy simultaneously. I broke through the air at breakneck speeds. True freedom was in my hands and nobody would ever take it away. I started to descend but I didn't want to, I wasn't ready to get back to the ground, I pushed harder and hard each time making a silly position but I didn't care, I was moving through the air at my own free will.

"You see this? Gravity is my bitch." I joked, knowing fully that everyone could hear me. Time to descend they were nearly at the buccaneer so it's about time I reached the ground for the first time in what must have been full minutes of independent flying.

"That's not funny." Maya said, clearly agitated, she obviously knew what I meant when I spoke about power.

_'After that they will probably be lusting after you to no end.' _Somehow I'm starting to regret my actions.

The skiffs were docked and we were all led up to meet with Captain Scarlett.

* * *

"Where's the conductor!" Krieg shouted in dismay as he couldn't find Captain Scarlett.

"The conductor?" Gaige asked.

"No don't!" Maya shouted at Gaige but it was too late.

"THE CONDUCTOR OF THE POOP TRAIN!" Krieg chuckled heartily after shouting that.

"Good question none the less." I asked, then I realized. I stepped back just as a body slammed against the deck. Nice.

"Oh hello there, didn't see you drop by." She said, with a sexy accent and a bad pun.

"You call that dropping someone? Pathetic." I said casually. She seemed to register it as a challenge and not an insult.

"Could you do better?" She asked me, aware that she was guarding the birds nest. The highest point of her ship clearly thinking it to be the only way to achieve height.

"Yep." I said heartily as I stepped forward and grabbed the groaning pirate. I launched as I had done before, more powerful each time I did it. My power was growing just like the demon had said. I really need a name for him.

_'It would be preferable.'_

What about Geoff?

_'No.'_

Gregory?

_'You're trying to be insulting.'_

Martin? Lopez? Jose? Gerald? Connor?

_'Stop it, you're humiliating me with mortal names.'_

'Listen hot head, you gotta have something I can call you by other than 'the demon'.' Then it occurred to me, 'hot head', no not that but something along the lines of fire.

_'Heat.'_

'That's gold, let's call you Heat.'

That was when I realised exactly how high I was, a few more minutes and we would probably have breached the unnaturally low atmosphere. I shifted my weight and slammed the pirate downwards as hard as I could. I really put everything into it. He went down like he weighed a tonne. Not a particularly nice way to go, but hey he's a pirate, I don't care. Now to get back down on my own.

Going down is much more fun and much easier, you can just fall until the last hundred meters before you have to slow your fall.

When I got back to the Buccaneer there was a massive hole in the deck.

"Whoops, sorry about that." I said sheepishly as I landed softly in front of Scarlett who was giving me the eye up and down. She wants me.

'Introduce me.' Heat said casually.

"I'm not sure she'd want to meet you to be honest." I said out loud with a frown.

"Er, who are you talking to?" She asked me, suddenly contemplating the threat of a superhuman psychopath. She already had Krieg on board but I'm a different case I suppose.

"I'm a very conflicted person." I said as though she'd never understand the complicity of it.

"Split personalities? Voices in your head?" She didn't sound as attracted as before.

"He actually does have another side to him." Moxxi said calmly as she and the other raiders stood back, prompting me to change. By now most of the pirates had gathered round me to watch what would happen.

I motioned for Scarlett to stand back with my hand then let my anger flow over me with ease. It felt good, but I never told people that it meant that I wouldn't be able to justify my rare killing sprees where I would claim not being able to hold of the change and slaughter a few bandit villages.

I did it slower this time just for effect. Firstly it was just patches, the internal heat brought my blood close to my skin, then it turned to fire and my skin charred before it went back to normal. Again and more this time before I 1released the flood gates so to speak, a blast of fire covered me from head to toe and that familiar burn skin and flowing fiery veins stood before them. I could feel the eyes, horrible, narrow blood red evil eyes. Looking at the pirates like they were a meal.

Before I knew it I'd turned back into my regular self, only a tiny sweat dripping down my forehead this time, I really was starting to acclimate to the pressure of it all.

"Well that certainly puts a spin on things now doesn't it. Hey anybody want to duel with this fella?" She asked without taking her eyes off my now half naked body. It's kind of unnerving knowing that every female around me is thinking that, oh wait that's right.

"Angel, if you haven't already, end the feed." I said remembering that I'd told her to link me to everyone so that I could show off. A few moments later I got a message on the ECHO net from Lilith.

'Just curious are you and Maya actually a thing or is it more an open relationship? – Lilith xx' OH HELL, that's not good, what have I done?

'_Dude she wants you bad._' Heat actually laughed, the cheeky bastard.

"I will." A gigantic pirate stepped forwards. He looked like he was leagues ahead of his mates but I'm a different case.

He held two flintlock pistols out and of course I had my double smith and Wesson .500 calibre handguns out which were both like rocket launcher (I got an upgrade) he obviously didn't know that but hey.

On the count of the ten paces he shot at me with both barrels and one of them hit me in the ribs but I hadn't moved a single inch. Now he was panicking as I lined up my shots carefully and as I was about to shoot his face into the canyon wall five hundred yards away I shot both of his kneecaps instead.

"I'm not an unfair man." I said casually as I walked away.

"Unfortunately for him, I am unfair. He can no longer serve me, therefore I don't need him." Scarlett said as she aimed her custom Maliwan pistol at the downed crewman before executing him in a fiery shot to the face. Fair play.

"I want you to get me to the treasure of the sands. And you want me to help you with Hyperion. Here's a map detailing the various places you'll find the pieces of a mystical compass which will show us the location of the treasure. I think we have an arrangement." Scarlett smiled before doing a double take on me then went about her business. I would have stayed but Maya refused. We decided to split up and get the four pieces in a fraction of the time. Me, Maya and Moxxi were to get the first piece from a Hyperion convoy. Scarlett had given Astor her piece.

Astor, Gaige and Krieg were tracking a man named Sandman who had another piece. After we got to the convoy I would try to fly over the canyon to get to the next piece which was being kept by a man named Herbert who stayed at home all day fantasizing about Scarlett. Maybe I could carry Maya and Moxxi and take them with me. Think about that later, the convoy is first, god I hate Hyperion.

* * *

"What are you douce-bags doing out in Oasis?" Handsome Jack came on through the ECHO net. Most people would try to mute or block him but I liked to have a little bit of fun.

"Hey Jack, how's it going buddy?" I responded, my tone was almost insulting.

"Oh you know, I did have a lot of paperwork to do then I laid it off on the loaders, so you know, that's cool."

"Some people have more money than sense." Moxxi looked sad when she said it, she was obviously thinking about what Jack had done to her Underdome.

"Hey Jack can you see us on the ECHO or by satellite?" I asked as I spied a small satellite on the horizon, if he was watching from there I'd give him a good show.

"The satellite and before you try shooting it down, it's bullet proof, so don't waste your ammo, I'd hate you to die before I get to kill you myself." Jack said as casually as ever. I ran slowly at first but got faster.

"Angel, link my video feed through again, just for fun." I said and Angel did what I asked and I soon got confirmation that everyone could once again see me. I lept through the air, catching my flight path perfectly. Fluke. It's going to take more practice to do this. I kept of flying straight towards Jack's satellite that was much further away than I thought but I got there.

"Hey, is it rage proof?" I asked into the high definition camera lens on the satellite as I progressively ripped through it and leaped backwards and tried to fly back down to where I'd left off. Unfortunately I really hadn't quite nailed my control.

"That was a four million dollar state of the art satellite!" Jack shouted through the ECHO.

"Hah, not anymore it's not, you'll be lucky to get a few hundred for that crumpled, burning shack of shit. And that's before it hits the ground." People loved it when I was the macho one.

One new message, alright let's open it up.

'A tad over the top, don't you think? – Axton.' I laughed at that, it seems like Axton has forgiven me, good, for the final assault on Jack we're really going to need to pull together.

"No it's not buddy! He deserved it." I laughed as I still tried to correct my path.

One new message, another one?

'Touché –Axton.' Nothing more interesting than that. I really like this messaging system. It's fun and anonymous, great for taking the piss unless you sign your name.

"OH SHIT!" I realised how close to the ground I was when I was a few seconds away from face planting it. I braced against the rock crashed into. It hurt but apparently my bone structure had hardened along with my strength, in massive amounts. That was like an average punch to the face. Yeah I could take a few of those before I cry for mummy.

I'm kidding, I've never done that… OK I DID IT ONCE! Don't judge me.

I crashed through the entire rock formation, bringing the overhanging cliff down on the passing Hyperion convoy. Luckily Maya and Moxxi weren't underneath, they were planning on going over the canyon and sniping down the Hyperion security from a height, but they never got there, they had just began climbing when the whole thing collapsed. Unlucky.

"Hey guys, I took out the Hyperion bots, with my face, let's go get that compass piece before I pass out." I say half joking, but seriously I'm starting to feel that, I don't advise anyone do that, ever.

*New message*

'Are you OK? That looked painful :S – Fuse x'

_'Her as well? You're on a roll.'_

'Oh, go away.'

"Guys I'm fine! Stop messaging me! Axton, it's your fault I crashed in the first place!" I shout into the invisible ECHO field that was sending video to the others.

*New message*

'LOL! – Astor' Well I have to say I expected him to be more mature.

"Fuck off Astor." I said, giving up all the same. I still don't have a shirt on because of my transformation into Heat.

I don't know why but I randomly thought of Jace. I should talk to him. He's my only lead on where Rose went. I don't know why she left him behind, it could be a trap or maybe he has unfinished business. I'll see him after this Scarlett business is resolved.

We have the compass piece, now to get the last one on our side.

"Astor, you have the compass piece?" I asked him over the ECHO.

"Yup, we're heading back to the Buccaneer." He responded quickly.

"OK, I'll meet you half way, Maya and Moxxi are going back to the Buccaneer, I'm coming to get the pieces, I'm going to have a word with Scarlett about this guy and then I'm going to make my way over there on my own, I'll be much faster." I said, Astor saw the logic and agreed.

* * *

"What's up with this guy anyway? Why does he have the final piece of the puzzle?" I asked Scarlett. She was sitting down eating what looked like a really expensive lunch and seemingly impossible to get from Oasis.

"He's the leading expert on the tale of the treasure of the sands. He's also a perv. And wouldn't leave me alone. I gave him a piece to make him feel important and told him that he had to do it for me." Scarlett was good at what she did.

"The thing is that he god a bit too close to me. I may have send out a few signals in order to get information. But he's nothing like you." Scarlett said after a while. She began eyeing me up. I knew I wouldn't get anything else out of her today.

"Like me?" I indulged her.

"Yes. I've been sending out all sorts of signals but you've not picked up any of them, you're really not interested are you?" She looked kind of sad but realised there's no point crying over it.

"Sorry. I'm whipped. A siren is enough for me." I lied. I could take on all six existing sirens at once with my power increase. My endurance had no limits, or at least if it does, I haven't found it yet.

"I think you're lying. I think you can handle a lot more than that. But I won't push you for it. I'm sure that she's happy with your decision to stick to just her. Take that package to Herbert and give it to him in exchange for the compass piece." Scarlett said before she got up and left to take care of her other Captain's duties.

*2 new messages*

'I am :) – Maya xxx'

'You realise your ECHO is still on right? – Lilith xx'

_'Dude, busted.' _Heat laughed, but he knew that I was aware.

I met up with Astor and took his two parts of the compass and then made my way over the canyon's width and aimed for this Herbert's house.

* * *

Time to send a message to Scarlett.

'I see what you mean – Ten.'

*Message sent*

This guy is a complete creep

"Scarlett told you to come to me? When she sees how quickly I'd give you the compass piece she just has to take me back!" Herbert was practically screaming with joy. Little fan girl

"Yeah, she's so happy with you that she's gotten you a small present. I'll let you have it once you give me the compass piece. And just between you and me, I think it's her unmentionables." I said, trying to coax him to give me the piece faster.

*New message*

'It's not… At all... – Scarlett x'

_'Her as well? Damn.'_

'Just because there's a kiss on the end, doesn't mean they fancy me, jeez how old are you?'

_'Do you really want to know?'_

Now that you've said it like that I actually do.

_'You are a very special being. You think that anyone would be given power like this? You are able to be reborn upon death. You are the same person as you have been throughout all of your lives.'_

'Are you telling me that I'm as old as you are?'

'No. I'm far older. You died and made a very powerful angel your natural enemy. He forced my soul to be bound to yours for eternity. You are forbidden from purgatory, you may only be drawn to Hell.'

'How would I enter Hell?'

'Souls who show extreme measures of certain qualities or attributes are often allowed to keep their bodies as they enter purgatory.'

'So what would mine be?'

_'Your legendary strength, speed, endurance. You can fly. As far I'm aware you're the only human with that ability.'_

'Cool, but you're distracting me, I'd better zone back in before Herbert stops ranting about his love for Scarlett.'

"It's in the chest over there." I hear Herbert say. Before I give him the package I opened up the chest, there it is in perfect order, I have the compass now off to the top of the Magnys lighthouse I think.

"Give him the box and get to the Magnys lighthouse. From there you can use the compass and it will show us the spot where the treasure is buried." Scarlett said over the ECHO.

"OK, here's your box of whatever's, I gotta jet, duty calls." I didn't wait around to hear his reply I jumped high into the air doing exactly what I've become accustomed to do when suddenly there was an explosion and a mushroom cloud that I barely escaped from, no doubt it gave me a decent measure of radiation exposure as well.

"Ah sorry about that. I probably should have told you about my little bomb in the package." Scarlett said in a false apologetic way.

"A little bomb? Bitch you're insane! You had me carrying a low yield nuclear device!" I shouted back.

*New message*

'Low yield nuclear device. Nice touch – Axton.'

"Sorry. Just head to the lighthouse and get that thing in position." Scarlett soon cut off.

"Heat, how fast can you go?" I asked out loud. It's a decent way until the lighthouse.

_'Faster than you.'_

I needed no more prompt than that, I let my anger flow over me and we switched places. I'm the little voice in the head and he's the one in control. Still stronger than me, but that's fine. I can hold him off when he's got a blood lust.

'The lighthouse, come on, let's see how fast you can go.'

Once I had said that inside his head he needed no more prompts. He really had mastered this. He could continuously fly in one motion instead of having to keep pushing every now and then to make sure we stayed aloft. He could fly in any direction facing any other direction he wanted, he just had to will the movement and it happened.

We got to the lighthouse and instead of changing back straight away I decided to let him have his freedom.

The ECHO device bleeped.

*New message*

'Tell me the things that Ten wont – Lilith xx'

Don't you dare!

"Do you think now is the right time?" He said simply. Seemingly listening to my warning.

He put the compass in the right place and the lighthouse began it's process.

Ask Maya for a progress update.

"Maya. Sitrep." Heat said. He must have picked up my military lingo. Everyone knew that sitrep meant situation report

Static was all that was heard on the other end of the line.

It's happened. Scarlett has betrayed us. She knows where the treasure is, time to get ambushed.

"Yeah, sorry about that love, it turns out that I have to get to that treasure first, not too good with sharing at the moment. Still planning on backing you against Jack, just using your comrades as a deposit in case anything goes wrong." Scarlett said before she hung up her ECHO and her first and second ship hands revealed themselves with a full squad each down below.

'Slam 'em.'

Heat jumped off the edge of the light house and did exactly what I'd said. He literally slammed down into the ground causing a heavy fire band to erupt around us instantly incinerating everyone around us

'When we get there turn back. Time to switch to ranged.'

Heat took that into account and left the lighthouse to make way to where we could see Scarlett's convoy approaching. We touched down next to the rest of the group and quickly changed back. Scarlett had a much bigger sand skiff than the others and she was the only one on this one with the raiders, the other pirates were all in smaller means of transport.

"You ever try that again, I will waste you all." I warned her, she nodded solemnly but then looked extremely worried. I pulled both of my .500 revolvers.

"Remember when I ever so briefly mentioned the Leviathan?" Scarlett turned to me and slowly braced herself against the piloting console of the sand skiff. The ground rumbled violently and everyone went straight to the deck of the skiff as a gigantic sand worm burst through and swallowed us whole. Moving through the throat of this thing made me realize that this thing wasn't just a sand worm. Great, this thing is even bigger. I wonder if I can make it puke us up from burning it's throat. Worth a shot. But first. Time to have a little chat with the good captain.

* * *

Good god I've just been swallowed whole. Everyone was gathering their bearings and slowly returning to their feet. I thought I should apologize to Moxxi. This wasn't what I had in mind when I invited her along.

"Hey Moxxi. I'm sorry that you had to get dragged up in this, I thought it would be a simple errand task with something to shoot at thrown in the mix. Not being swallowed whole." I said. I wonder if she'll come up with something dirty.

"Don't worry yourself about it sugar, I'm sure it's not the first time I've been in a swallowed whole situation." She said it so casually.

"Dear god Moxxi." I feigned horror on my face but couldn't keep it up, I shortly laughed and broke the joke. She isn't taking it personally and that's good. Then something caught my eye.

"Hey Scarlett?" I asked towards the back of the group. We were heading towards what looked like the stomach.

"What's on your mind love?" She answered almost immediately.

"About your pet, Roscoe." I said calmly, unsure how to approach what I could see.

"Oh poor Roscoe, swallowed whole just like us." I waited for a moment before I said it.

"I've found Roscoe." I exhaled deeply awaiting Scarlett to vault over me or something but when she saw it she stopped dead in her tracks.

"It looks… Lambent." Gaige said disgusted.

_'It looks a tad infected.'_

'Ya think?'

Better ask around.

'What would you do? – Ten.' I sent the message quickly and awaited a response.

*Multi-message sent*

No time to wait around for replies. I'm going to kill this thing.

"Scarlett, I'm going to put Roscoe out of his misery." I said calmly. Analysing this decaying Rakk Hive.

"I think it'll take all of us love." She didn't waiver her eyes. She probably loved that monster. I'd never heard of anyone taming a Rakk hive before.

*New message*

'Melt it :D – Fuse xx' Wow, that's screwed up… I'd still hit it, Fuse is hot, and that's not just a pun.

I've got a bad idea, but it sounds awesome at the same time.

"Everybody, I've got a really bad idea. Hold on to something that's not likely to move easily." I said as I holstered my guns and made my way over to the Rakk hive which now had its eyes on me and looked hungrily. Good thing my plan is to get eaten… Again.

'_Good god NO!_' Heat shouts in vain, this is happening.

"Ten, what are you doing!? Get back here!" Maya demands behind me but I decided to ignore her. She'll give me a nice ass whoopin' later for that.

"Do what she says! Ignoring sirens makes me nervous." Astor complained somewhere else behind me.

"Everyone watching my ECHO feed, it's been an honour serving with you." I said depressively as I shed all of my guns and gave them to Moxxi who was holding Maya back with the assistance of Gaige's metal arm.

I'm still not wearing a shirt but that's alright, it would get ruined now anyway.

An incoming ECHO call, interesting, pull it up.

"Whatever you're about to do stop!" It was Lilith. What's so urgent?

"You sound quite worried about my safety." I teased.

"I just. I. Ugh. I'm thinking about what it would do to Maya is all." A nice recovery, but, just no.

"Ugh huh?" I've seen right through it and she knows it.

"Just shut up!" She hung up on me? That's not nice.

Another call? Ignore. Time to put on a decent show. I walked up to the gigantic irradiated Rakk hive and sized up to it. Gently rising off the ground so as to get to eye level with the beast. It can tell that I'm offering myself up but it's not intelligent enough to know why. In one magnificent swoop it's swallowed me up and is beginning it's digestive process. I'm inside a Rakk hive inside a mythical Leviathan and it stinks in here, time to make an exit in this bitch.

"Heat, I need you to fight against me for control!" I shouted, there's no time to argue. He did exactly that and nearly took over immediately, I managed to hold on to it though.

_'What does this achieve?'_

"The more we fight for control the more our power builds up in one motion." I said through gritted teeth.

_'If you're trying to bring the hybrid out this isn't the way to do it.'_

"I'm not, just trust me, if demons are even capable of trust. Just do what I tell you!" Yeah, ascertain dominance. Alpha as hell.

The power surging between our two minds is incredible, it's become almost unbearable painful, but to bring down a beast this big and damage the one that ate the Rakk hive, we're going to need a lot of power.

Someone outside is crying. Is that Maya? Oh what have I done? I didn't even think about her. I'm a terrible human being. Maybe I'll take her on holiday when this is all over. Away from Pandora for a while. We can let everyone else handle things without us for some time. I'm ready. Time to bust this bitch wide open.

"Release!" I began shouting in agony as I took all of Heat's power and turned it into my own, channelling fire through my body, it burned and it hurt more than anything I've ever felt before, but it also felt good at the same time, all that power surging through my body almost turned me blind by the sheer magnitude of it. It's working, the Rakk hive is melting form the inside. Melting isn't enough, we need overkill, we need more power!

I exploded into a thousand rays of burning light followed by a fiery blaze of energy as we displaced every ounce of strength and energy outwards, bursting the Rakk hive on the spot. Leaving me nearly dead and panting for breath. The first thing I saw was a blurry blue headed woman running up to me. She's cursing at me, I think, I'm not sure, all I can hear is a high pitched ringing. I think I have shell shock.

I've passed out.

* * *

I woke up to Maya sitting next to me and the others all standing or sitting looking bored. I guess our ride isn't over yet. Or they were waiting for me to wake up before attempting an escape.

"WOOOOO!" I shout at the top of my lungs. That was the best experience of my life, seriously. That much power going through one person shouldn't be allowed, then again it's hardly common practice.

"YOU COULD HAVE DIED YOU JACKASS!" Maya slaps me then forces me into the longest kiss slash snog of my entire life, when she finally pulls away and I catch my breath I managed to speak again.

"Totally worth it!" I laughed as I managed to stand on my own feet once more.

*4 new messages* Oh god, I'll check those out later.

* * *

**Please review the story if you liked it, it keeps me going! :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

I'm so sore from that Rakk hive bursting experience, but the power felt good. I was channelling the hate and anger that made Heat physically real, I was the one behind the fire.

*4 new messages*

'Har- to get throu- line corrupte- location soldier? – Roland'

'I have no words. Seriously are you single? :3 – Lilith xx'

'You sir are insane. Good work, respect earned – Axton'

'Jolly good show old friend, keep up the power play. – Hammerlock.'

"Huh, only Hammerlock would put a full stop on the end of a message. Posh bastard. So, where are we with getting out of this leviathan thing? It's not moving anymore it's at a standstill, it stopped around the time that big ugly pulp swallowed me." I say as I look around to check the status of everyone. We're all still in good condition. Krieg looks insane…

"We were hoping you'd have a way out of here sugar." Moxxi responded in her ever so seductive voice.

"Hmm. Heat any idea?" I ask aloud so that people know that I'm not ignoring them.

_'Not any good ones. Does it have an Uvula? Maybe tickle it? Or better yet destroy it. Burn the throat, let's see what Gaige is carrying.'_ That's actually a solid idea.

"Angel?" I ask out loud realising that I never asked her to shut down my video feed.

"Ten?" She responded in a manner that sounded playful.

"Angel?" I don't know why I asked her again.

"Ten?" She kept it going.

I thought about saying 'Angel?' Once more but then thought against it.

"Have you shut down my video feed?"

"Shutting down your ECHO network's video function. Is that all?" Angel sounded like she was eating something. Could computers eat?

"Angel, are you eating something?" I ask her in a completely confused manner.

There was a moment of silence and I swear I heard her move a wrapper besides her, but that's not possible, A.I don't have arms. "No." I bet Angel's a person. I'm not going to ask any of the others on this matter because we're staging the raid on control core in a few days, I can wait until then. Or at least I can go to my remote hidey hole where I try the dangerous stuff, I can get a private ECHO call and confront her on the matter, but it's not of the most importance right now.

Back to the current situation, getting out. The explosion from the Rakk hive had seemingly done nothing to the leviathan but then again it wasn't near any vital areas.

"Gaige, what kind of explosives do you have hooked up to your digistruct tech?" I asked her. At first I couldn't remember what she had in the shape of digistruct then I remembered she had a metal arm that was capable of summoning a flying killing machine.

"A few variants of dynamite, some C-4 and some fast acting napalm, that's about it." Holy shit, is Gaige a demolitions expert? About it? Mental note, never screw with this girl, and NEVER screw this girl. The complications from it would be catastrophic and probably not worth the sex.

"Isn't all napalm fast acting?" I asked her, trying to keep my thought patterns about this underage girl clean. I mean I assume that the age limit on Pandora is sixteen, right?

"More or less. This particular type will burn through things faster than curry night." Gaige said with an evil grin.

"OK, pull as much as you can and set it all up to be on a triggered explosion." I have a plan, it's not a good plan, but it will do none the less.

Not too long after that had Gaige set up a fair amount of contained napalm ready for me to place it wherever I want.

"And this will go off whenever I trigger it?" I asked her. I'm sure she thought I meant a trigger that could be detonated remotely but actually I just meant via my Maliwan Hellfire.

I put the big group of rigged explosives up by the mouth that swallowed us in the first place and shot a few rounds into the closest can then ran for my life straight down the gullet.

"Shit, aren't we supposed to be up near that?" I asked as I quickly grabbed everyone I could. Krieg was running with Gaige on his shoulders. Gaige summoned Death Trap to carry captain Scarlett and I took both Maya and Moxxi by the waist.

"On my mark!" I shouted after the explosion. We had to time this right, the leviathan let out a thunderous roar and everyone lost their footing. Death-Traps signal had been disrupted causing him to disappear and drop Scarlett. We were all falling down the throat which had moved in such a way that the only way to go was down. And we were falling.

We were all vomited out of the mouth of the leviathan, and my god it truly was huge. I thought the giant sand worm was the leviathan. Boy was I wrong.

"It looks angry." I said calmly as I pulled my pistols out quickly and readied myself for what I'd never thought I'd have to do.

* * *

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!" I shouted as I ducked out of the way of the leviathan's claw as it tried to turn me into puree. Shit, shit, shit, shit!

As I got back onto my feet I felt overwhelmed with anger, this wasn't the kind of anger that washed over me whenever Heat came out, this was the kind of anger that stained your soul and secured you a place in Hell.

"I survived a run in with a werewolf last week! A WEREWOLF! I will NOT be defeated by an oversized insect-lobster!" I shouted. I doubt it could recognize my words but it did recognize the fact that I was shouting at it.

The giant sandworm shot out of the leviathan's gaping maw as it tried to take me down it's throat again. That is not going to happen twice mate. I grabbed the sandworms jaws right before they cut me in half at the waist.

"I'll keep it busy, you guys shoot the weak spots!" I shouted as I wrestled the sand worm trying desperately to take me out of the action. Maya used her phaselock on one of the leviathan's weak spots giving everyone a bigger target. Any projectiles that hit Maya's phaselocking bubbles would ricochet everywhere inside it, pretty much guaranteeing the destruction of those blue soft spots.

The wave of anger that passed over me was nothing like anything I've ever experienced. I'm angry but I don't know what at. Heat is trying to take over.

"STOP IT!" I shout in frustration only to get odd looks from my friends. They probably thought I was talking to the sand worm.

_'It's my time to be the dominant once. You will stay suppressed where you belong.'_

"Never fucking trust a demon." I sighed heavily as I gave in, I couldn't fight them both off, and chances are he's still slightly stronger than me.

The change was faster than normal, almost instantaneous. It took over my mind and body leaving me as the tiny little voice in the head.

"Free, at last." I will always remember his bone chilling voice ringing around inside my head. He knows exactly what he's doing, let's just hope that he's going to see things through before he jet's us away to do the monstrosities that I cannot prevent him doing.

An uppercut covered in flames sent the sandworm fleeing in fear with a burnt fist on its. Heat is a being of few words, and when signals and motions can purvey his thoughts then he won't talk unless absolutely necessary. Both of the soft spots on the leviathan's body had been destroyed leaving only one. A large on one the head of the sand worm-tongue. Heat had ascended to the top of the leviathan's head and signalled for everyone to focus fore when he brought the sand worm out once more.

A charged punch? Nice, it really had a nice effect against the hard skin of the leviathan. I assumed it was hard, Heat cracked through it with his superheated fist with considerable ease. A few more seconds and a few more planet busting fists had been placed into the soft underskin of the leviathan. It didn't like this new sensation called pain. It sent out the sandworm to try and take Heat off it's back. Literally and metaphorically.

Heat sat his opportunity, while everyone was firing at the soft spot Heat could take it out permanently. He charged and didn't give the sandworm and room to manoeuvre, a straight spearhead move that ripped through the softer flesh of the worm and he kept pushing, right up until the point where he severed the sand worm and flew straight back into the roaring maw of the leviathan, that must have been a critical injury because it was starting to weaken at the points where it mattered; the claws anchoring the beast to the rocky output we'd been vomited onto.

Once last push and this enemy would be no more.

"Scarlett. Hook." Two simple words that said more than enough, he was efficient. A stone cold killer that knew the rules of the game, and no rule trumped being the best at what we did.

Scarlett handed Heat her hook hand after a second of releasing it from its strap. Heat instinctively flew and dodged the vile amounts of bile spewing from the dying monster's jaw as he neared for the final kill. It would be a brutal execution to say the least. He dove straight through and landed on the soft and bloody flesh that used to be the sand worm. This tongue wasn't as aggressive as it once was, good thing too, that was a big sandworm which knew how to be an even bigger problem, and so far the BIGGEST pain in the ass.

Heat hooked a rocky skin outlet near the roof of the mouth that looked about as indestructible as the definition of said word gets. But then the leviathan had never met my inner demon.

One of the most powerful squat thrusts ever done and the roof of the monsters mouth was no more, and neither was it's skull, face, brains. The skull cap was the last thing to explode but the first to hit the ceiling of the underground cave. A quick burst of fire and all of the blood had been disintegrated out of my trousers. Heat had destroyed my shirt before-hand.

Why do you always have to do that? Those shirts cost me like fifty dollars a piece!

"Don't complain, we've survived and they don't yet know the difference between us. They still believe I'm a bad mood. When do you plan to tell them about the gypsy?" Heat asked out loud. He was fine with talking as loud as he wanted, not afraid of anyone overhearing. He may have even been doing it on purpose so that if anyone asked him what he meant, then he could justify telling them about my meeting with the fortune teller. Gypsy isn't a very nice name, but for all intents and purposes, she may also be labelled as one of those as well.

Back down to my friends. Make sure that once Scarlett finds her precious treasure, that we have her support against Jack. After that, you are free to do whatever you will for twenty four hours. No more. I need rest if we are to storm control core angel. I've got a horrible feeling that Jack's got more in store for us than we realize.

"I will ensure that both parties get what they desire. You do realise that we are far more of a match for handsome Jack than is needed. One might suggest it being partial to the definition of 'Overkill'." Heat said sophisticatedly. He's picking up my personality traits faster and faster, it's almost unnerving.

Alright smartass, just get to it, we don't have much time, and I can't do my fake capture plan until after we storm Angel. I can't have anyone worrying about the wellbeing of their heaviest hitter.

"You flatter yourself." Heat said as he realized that my power was seeping back into me at an incredible rate, and that if I hadn't already been exhausted with the sand worm, that he wouldn't have taken over me at all. I took solace in the fact that I was no longer tied to laws of gravity and I effectively made everyone my bitch. Even you Jack, even you.

* * *

The leviathan was dead and Heat was in control but even he was curious enough about this fabled treasure enough to stand around for a while longer.

The Leviathan had been defeated and it's body had paved the way to the treasure room for us.

"Scarlett." Heat said in his demonic but more so normal voice. It was adapting. Healing. I was also gaining my old abilities from a time long forgotten. I had the ability to slowly heal the cells of my body. So when you try using an ability like that you have to think about the worst wound on your body, right? I tried it on the gash in my throat. A bullet wound which hit the side and grazed right through. Narrowly missing my jugular vein. It healed naturally in time, after the emergency stitch up that is, but my voice box had permanently been damaged, giving me a grainy tone.

So anyway I tried this healing ability, and what do you know? Slowly but surely my voice box started to repair itself, it's an on-going process but so far I'm pleased with the results. I can't fix the scarred tissue from the bullet wound though, but I'm fine with that, I like my battle scars.

"Demon." Scarlett replied in an enthusiastic tone, she seemed confident enough to take Heat on right now, which some of us were expecting anyway. We didn't want the treasure of the sands and had no intention of harbouring another war over it. We just needed aid in our current warfare crisis.

"Any relation to Captain Rose? Of the Legionnaires?" Heat asked her, reading my exact thoughts, though I'm not sure whether he was reading my thoughts or I was speaking them out loud. It gets a little fuzzy when you're watching your own life from the perspective of a television.

Scarlett stopped dead in her tracks and merely observed the lot of us for what seemed like eternity.

"So you're finally back. I thought she killed you for good this time. Ten." Scarlett said with a smile. Was she one of the Legionnaires? Ex-Legionnaire? How much does she know.

Heat willingly let me revert back to my normal self so that this conversation could be held under much more descriptive means, I.E I could get what information I wanted through diplomatic means opposed to Heat beating it out of her, which wouldn't go well if we wanted support against Hyperion.

"Apparently not. It turns out that a few people believe I'm hard to kill. Even creatures of the night I didn't know existed." I smiled cockily referring back to the time that I beat their pet werewolf without Heat's help.

"Jace?" Scarlett asked, suddenly her smirk disappeared as she began to remember at least as much as I do.

"Jace." I nodded. It seemed that with her sudden influx of memories that she knew more than I did at this point, and I didn't like that at all.

"You took him on in a weakened condition, that's pretty impressive." Scarlett nodded, keeping the vague look confusing all of us.

"Who are you?" I asked her, after given her a funny look.

"A relation to Rose." Scarlett looked deeply disturbed by what she had just told us, even more than me, because you know, she's trying to kill me.

"Why is she trying to kill me? And what relation exactly?" I asked her, keeping my cold hard stare as intimidating as possible.

"We're cousins. Odd that we were both called shades of Red, I know, but it's a strange family." She looked up with a smile at last before continuing like nothing had happened, "Still, bury the hatchet right?" She giggled childishly as she lead the way to the supposed treasure room.

* * *

Rows upon rows upon rows of treasure chests lined the gigantic pyramid structure in the centre of the room.

All of the girls squealed at the sheer amount of loot and weaponry. Krieg looked very bored.

"Can we go home yet?" He asked in one of his sophisticated mood swings. They came and went but when they were here he was a very polite and smart individual and more or less mentally stable until it got swooped out by another bout of insanity which was more of less ninety percent of the time.

"Soon, I promise. But don't you want to look at the loot?" I asked him still in shock of the piles of weaponry the girls were making. Krieg glanced at them then at his axe.

"I'll ask Gaige to make a few modifications to my axe. I like it more than guns." Krieg sound calmly through his mask. Gaige and Krieg had a brother sister relationship. She looked out for him and he looked out for her. When it came down to the supposed suicide missions that only myself, Krieg Salvador and Brick were allowed to go on. Krieg would always present Gaige with some of the best loot there was before offering his rejected selection to anyone else.

She made him his helmet. A scary dome of metal that had two horns that made him look demonic, though not as bad as my demon. It had to long and narrow eye slots that were more vertical than horizontal but it just added to the fear factor of his unlucky enemies. Once Gaige had finished up the final design of it she'd registered it into the quick change stations and gave Krieg access. He spent even more time looking through them than Lilith, but not Moxxi, obviously, which is strange because Moxxi never changes her style anyway.

Maybe I should get a new style. I'm thinking Black combats and boots but with a blood red dragon leaning in from one side. That would be awesome. Hey I wonder if anyone in Sanctuary knows how to handle a tattoo gun. Oh well, something to look forwards to getting back.

* * *

"Are we done here ladies?" I shouted out loud enough for them to hear me on the top of the structure. There were a few murmurs.

"Yeah, we're going to stay a little longer, but you and Krieg can head back. We've arranged for some of Brick's air support to handle this stockpile and take it back to Sanctuary. Can you give us an opening and some sunlight up here?" Maya asked me, sure that it was within my ability to do so. Maybe. I looked up towards to roof, there are little cracks here and there letting slithers of natural light seep in and give a low dim to the cavern. Not that it needed to mind you, there were ancient looking torches everywhere that were somehow lit. I didn't want to know how it would probably just freak me out.

'Heat what do you think? Have you perfected your blast thing yet?' I asked him in my subconscious and awaited a reply.

_'I don't know, you haven't given me time. It might work. I don't see the harm in trying.'_ His reply was a bit too innocent like it might kill everyone and he'd just try to play it off as my idea.

'OK, get ready, I want to be able to use his in battle.'

_'In battle? God learn some new terms douchebag_.'

'You've ripped my personality haven't you? I was using one of your terms; you always say battle instead of combat. And I'm not the douche here I'll have you know, now get ready, I won't tell you again.'

I braced against myself and felt the power of the demon surge through my body until it finally found it's resting place; my hands. I felt the power physically build up until I was holding a volatile ball of fire in my hands. This got the attention of the girls. Krieg had stood up from his sitting position and casually sat down behind a crate in case I randomly combusted and blew myself to Hell.

"Er, Ten? Buddy, what are you doing?" Gaige asked me trying to stay calm at what she saw. It would seem impossible to most people but after the past few weeks no one would doubt them if they had told them anything new about me.

I felt the peak of the fiery energy in my hands and released it with a shunt of force that sent it careening into the ceiling before it finally hit it's metaphorical fuse and exploded in an impressive show of white red and orange light and fire that blew a nice big hole in the ceiling.

"What the hell was that? Are we at war!?" Shade called out through the ECHO. Well that's promising, it means that we're still relatively near to Oasis.

"It worked, sweet! Everyone OK!?" I shouted out in pure glee that I'd just thrown an explosion into a wall and received the desired effect. That never happens when you want it to be.

_'Mastered it. You also know the feeling of how to do it. You may not have done it subconsciously but you've tapped straight into my power. You've got that same draining effect from when you remembered those old memories, except you're learning my techniques and abilities. With practice you will be able to summon fiery explosions at your own will.'_ Heat's words made me feel fuzzy and warm inside, but that may just be down to the fact that I'd just caused a flaming bomb to blow the ceiling wide open, who

knows? It was fun to do either way.

"Cool, have fun with those weapons senoritas I'm off to get laid." I said, completely forgetting that I was no longer single and it wasn't acceptable to go around having sex with random women.

"Oh really?" Maya thought I meant with her. Golden, time for a good recovery.

"Yup." I said smoothly as I picked her up and began forcing my energy out of my body at what had become to me a casual speed to fly at confidently. If Maya wasn't with me I'd probably have gone at break neck speeds because I'm more damage resistant as of recently. But Maya isn't so we go at a nice pace back to Sanctuary. It's not far, at this pace we can get there in half an hour at worst.

* * *

We landed in Sanctuary casually. People around were stunned but they'd come to accept anything strange they'd see me do. Boy was I in for a rough time. During helping Scarlett out we'd gone through me changing into some kind of Hybrid and then through the phase of me learning to fly. Luckily me ECHO was turned off towards the end and they hadn't seen me send fire from my hand.

Lilith was walking up to us with a strange look on her face.

"What up with-?" Maya asked, pointing at Lilith who was stalking over to us. There was no way around it, so I just came clean.

"She really, really wants to sleep with me. I think it's a siren thing, you're all overly sexual." I said, managing to make a joke in what could turn into a dark situation. Maya tried not to giggle to much at that as Lilith got to where we were.

"Can I talk to Maya for a moment?" Lilith asked me. Of course she meant in private but that never stopped me from poking holes in her anyway.

"I don't know can you?" I asked her with a smug smile.

_'I'll still sleep with her.'_

"Not now Heat." I said, only just realizing that I'd spoken out loud.

"What?" Lilith asked in confusion.

_'Hah! She thinks you're crazier than Krieg.'_

Such bad timing it's almost impossible. How did I get stuck with probably the only demon that likes to make jokes and has bad humour. Mind you it could be worse. I could have been soul bound to a demon that had a thirst for gay sex. I've got nothing against homosexuals, except for the fact that I'm not one. It's a grey area, I know, but it felt like it was too late to take my comment back without explaining anyway.

"You know what, I'll let you talk in private. I'll be in Moxxi's if you need me. Shame that Moxxi is still at the treasure room." I said sadly as I walked over to Moxxi's bar.

* * *

As I was walking to Moxxi's to get smashed, the fast travel flickered to life with blinding blue light, giving the reappearing person the busty form of Moxxi. Damn she's fine.

"Right on time. I need something strong to lift my spirits." I said flirtily as I gave her a nice wink.

"Well sugar, so long as you're with Maya over there, you're only possible option would be other kinds of spirits." Moxxi laughed seductively as we walked back to her bar.

"But, aren't you with Mordecai?" I asked her in confusion. I've hardly seen the guy recently because he's always camped out and doing recon missions for the Raiders but I could have sworn that they were a thing.

"It's a real on off arrangement." She said, breaking her tone and looking slightly glum before returning to her cheerful self and getting behind the bar.

"OK, I'll ask no more. Maya and Lilith are having a talk. What's the strongest thing you've got." I asked her as I handed her a roll of money.

She handed me a whole bottle of Jack Daniels Tennessee whiskey. Finest product ever made in my opinion.

"Holy shit Moxxi, where the hell did you get this?" I asked in amazement. I was more amazed that she'd just handed me the whole bottle. She must have tons of this stuff if she's given me a whole bottle. But then, I really could drink this stuff to the bottom of the bottle and still shoot my guns.

There's a brewery on a neighbour planet. We've got a good supply line coming in. Not even Handsome Jackass knows about it." She smiled, then thought to herself for a moment while I was busy undoing the bottle.

"You should really have a drinking partner for that stuff." She said as she nodded over to the third private booth near the back of the bar.

I thanked her for the whiskey and began to walk over to see who was sitting there but she grabbed my arm before I left.

"About the two sirens. They're either going to fight over you, or they're going to share you." She said without wavering her perfect smile.

"Wait what? They'll what?" I asked, not sure what she meant. I had a few ideas, none of them particularly clean but there you go.

"You know exactly what I mean, they're either going to get into a fight, you'll probably be brought into that. Or they will decide to share you." She said, moving her head as if to say 'catch up!'

"I don't follow." I said calmly. I did, such a trouble maker mwahaha.

"They're probably both going to fuck you! God, so slow sometimes." She said, exasperated as she turned back to serve some more customers, all of which looked underage by about three years each.

Smiling to myself I walked over to booth three to see who was sitting there.

"Oh not you as well." I said in disbelief as I saw fuse sitting there looking at me coyly.

"Yeah, I'm just a bit smarter about it all. I gave Lilith the idea in the first place. By the time we finish that bottle. Maya and Lilith will be here and we're all going to take you back to bed." Fuse said in her calm but attitude voice. She knew her way around men.

I turned backwards and leaned over the booth so that Moxxi could see me.

"Were you in on this?" I asked her in my best offended voice, which being Moxxi, she obviously saw through.

"Umm, no." She said slyly as she bit her finger and gave me a wink. I turned back to my seat and instead of pouring myself a line of shots like Fuse had done, I took a big swig straight out of the bottle.

"I can't believe I've been played so easily." I said staring at the table.

"But, knowing the end result, do you even care that much?" She asked me. That caught my attention. I don't know. I'm too proud to just drop it because it ends with me getting laid with three different women. I'll get them back at some point. But for now, why not go along with it?

"I care because I've been tricked. And that's not something I will let go of. But at the same time I could easily be considered a sex addict with my sex drive so it's really fifty fifty." I said giving her a comical look so that she knew I was taking it well.

"Fifty fifty." She agreed sarcastically. Behind her smile she was trying to figure out exactly what and or who I am. It's not an easy subject but she seemed to be delving straight into my psychological profile and dissolving it without even talking to me. How do I know that's what she's doing? Because I'm doing exactly the same thing, except I'm being a tad more subtly about it all.

I downed the rest of the bottle then Maya and Lilith walked into the bar and Moxxi silently handed them another bottle of JD. I turned to her and she was almost laughed as I realized what had gone on.

"This was your idea to begin with!" I shouted as I was forced out of the bar clutching at the half empty whiskey bottle.

"Have fun!" She shouted back as Maya put me in a painless phaselock so that it would be easier to calm me down.

"This is so not fair." I protested as I downed the rest of the whiskey. Woah that's taking effect pretty quickly. What is this stuff- forty percent! Holy shit, maybe that was a mistake.

"Having sex with three hot women isn't fair?" Lilith asked as they all pushed me onto the bed and climbed on top of me.

"Boo hoo." Fuse teased me. Screw this, if I've got no other choice, I'm going to enjoy and I'm going to give them exactly what they want.

* * *

**Please review the story if you liked it, it keeps me going! :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Hangover? Check. Loss of memory? Check. Three hot sirens naked in my bed? What the fuck?

"Oh Jesus Christ my head is killing me." I muttered out loud, keeping my eyes closed. No one moved or replied. They're all still asleep, which usually wouldn't be a problem except Maya is lying on my left arm with her head on my shoulder and Lilith is doing the same on the other shoulder. I probably lost feeling in my shoulders a few hours ago because since waking up a few moments ago it's obvious there's not been feeling in them for a while. They could be broken and I'd have no idea.

Fuse is half lying on my stomach with her head facing upwards towards myself and the other two sirens.

"You're all smiling. I must have been that good." I amused myself. Oh well. I guess I can't do anything right now. I'll let them sleep. Poor girls must be exhausted after whatever the hell happened. God why do I always forget the good stuff. I'm sure it will come back to me.

Just then I heard a faint but consistent banging noise. Is someone marching? Are we being marched on? I think we're being marched on. Heat are we being invaded? I asked him but he was unresponsive, completely unresponsive; that's never happened before. Slightly worrying.

I edged my arm out from underneath the sirens ever so carefully, one at a time so as not to wake them. I succeeded and left a large gap where I'd been lying. But when I went to move Fuse, I couldn't resist the temptation any longer. I moved her to where I had been moments ago and moved all of their arms together to make it appear that they had slept together. Then I took a private picture with my ECHO unit and left it be. There's no way I'd upload this to the ECHO net, there's also no way I'm ever deleting this little memento.

I covered them up and left them to sleep for a while longer while I went to investigate the origin of the banging. I walked into Roland in the hall and at the moment he saw me he looked a little bit uncomfortable.

"Morning boss. What's up with the banging?" I asked him, feigning morning grogginess. I didn't think he bought it.

"I, ugh, I heard that the banging was actually you." Roland said trying to make a joke but was clearly far too distracted to do it properly.

"Is something wrong?" I asked him, absolutely oblivious to any problems. I hadn't heard any gun fire so no one had been injured or died. He just looked me in the eye and as calmly as ever said, "Ten, you've got no clothes on." And held the stare for what must have been an awkward few moments for him as I retraced my steps and suddenly remembered what had happened to my clothes.

"Ugh yeah, the thing is, having a foursome with three sirens isn't very healthy for cotton. Especially the kind that belonged on me." I said as I wondered if the people of Sanctuary would exactly blame me for walking over to the quick change station completely naked in order to get some clothes.

"Sounds like you had a good night after all – Oh my god." Moxxi said as she walked through the door, hearing me before seeing me. Her sentence changed abruptly when she saw me standing there stark naked. I can't exactly blame her, I'm not exactly a small person anyway. No pun intended… Maybe.

"I'll come back later." Moxxi said as she managed to turn red underneath white make-up. Yeah, I'm good.

"Moxxi wait. This is a matter of life and death." I couldn't believe I was actually going to try this.

"Life and death?" She questioned me, every now and then sneaking a glance at my member.

"Yes. I need your hat. So that I can get some clothes." I said trying to laugh.

"You… You want to use my hat, to cover that thing?" She asked me in disbelief as she pointed to my man meat.

"Yes. My life depends on it." I smiled this time and I think she gathered that I was joking.

"I'm not sure it's even big enough, unless you wanted to put it in it, and that's never something that should be put into my poor hat." She said as she pursed her lips but quickly hid a grin as she was obviously imagining that exact thing. Instead of saying anything else and making more snide comments. She walked over and grabbed my arm and proceeded to march me out of the Crimson Raider headquarters all the way over to the quick-change where she leant against the machine.

I'm probably wrong but I think she did that so that she could take a good long look at me while I was occupied with finding a style that I liked.

People were giving me filthy looks and muttering benign comments every now and then but I don't care. I've just had sex with three sirens. Your move citizens of Sanctuary, your move. In the end I went with my classic combats and boots but this time I didn't bother with a top to go with it, they never last long enough for me to keep paying for them. Instead I bought a specialised harness off the ECHO net. It was created to be neigh indestructible and it comfortable housed my two .500 hand cannons, so I was at least happy with that. Right time to wake those sirens up, I'm thinking some extra loud guitar solos.

"Gaige, you online?" I asked as I patched my unit through to Gaige's ECHO frequency. I walked back to the HQ. I'd have to hook up my guitar to the amp I bought but that shouldn't take too much time. They're probably still sound-o form last night.

"Yup, what do you need?" She asked cheerfully.

"You're in an especially good mood." I said, prompting her to give a reason.

"Yes. I am." She wouldn't budge. Oh well, I won't push her for it.

"I just want to know how to make my guitar the loudest it can be. I'm not familiar with the extra input knobs you attached." I said as I put a mental picture of my guitar through my mind and began to familiarize myself with whatever she would suggest.

"Far left one should be turned up to the maximum. That plus whatever your usual set up it. The rest you're going to have to figure out. I'm kind of busy. Catch you later." She said happily.

"Gaige wait-" She hung up. I bet she's with that Gen kid. They're probably doing unspeakable things. Kids these days. Ah the fun I had as a teenager. I'm pretty sure I got arrested a few times. Ah the good old days.

I hooked up my guitar the exact way Gaige had said. Simple enough and when I was happy with the overall sound. I turned the amp volume all the way up until there was a small buzzing noise from the sheer amount of energy running through it.

I began to strum and play the first solo that came to my mind. It was from 'Fear of the Dark' by Iron Maiden. I loved playing around with guitars. The only thing that made my morning sweeter was the fact that all three naked sirens in my bed shot up in confusion, forgetting they were naked.

I stopped playing so that they could get their bearing and let them talk, or attempt to talk.

Fuse and Maya put their heads under one of my pillows. Were they making out? I don't mind. Men can easily share their girlfriend with other women. I mean in this case it would be futile to argue seeing as I'd slept with them hours before.

Lilith looked at me like she wanted to throttle my neck. Which she probably would at some point. "Ten?" She asked me, awaiting my response.

"Yes Lilith?" I asked her, with a huge beaming smile on my face.

"What the fuck?"

* * *

"Good morning Lilith." I said pleasantly as I retired my guitar back to its stand which was in the shape of a chrome hand protruding from the wall. It looked hard-core but not everyone agreed.

"What is your problem?" She asked me, cupping her ears. I wouldn't have expected her ears to be the first thing she cupped but I didn't voice my thoughts in case she adhered to it. I'm enjoying the view. Still no input from the demon though. I wonder what's shut him up.

Lilith gave me a death glare then laid back down, surprisingly with the other two and pulled the covers back over them all. I should have stayed in bed.

"Well if this ever happens again, I'll be sure to stay there." I reassured them as I walked back out of my room to go and find Roland.

"Roland?" I asked out loud. I walked briefly down the corridor which had all the bedroom doors, but nothing. I decided to go up to the war room.

In the war room, Roland was hunched over the centre console looking deeply at the battle plan. Axton was no longer in casts, but instead had a foot brace and a sling around one of his arms. His bruises had died down and he looked nearly ready for battle. Which was incredible, it's only been a few days. I guess Zed had given him some prototype insta-heals.

"What up- wait do you feel that?" I asked them, staying completely still. It felt like Zero, but I knew it wasn't. Zero was far too good for me to catch him out. It was almost like someone else was using Zero's tech.

I punched out at the air and then Astor fell backwards. A ripple around his clothes showed where he'd previously been using advanced cloaking technology.

"How did you do that?" Axton asked me. Him and Roland obviously knew that Astor was doing it. But they were both shocked to see that I could sense him there.

"Call it a hunch. You win Zero. I can't find you, come on out buddy." I said eagerly and Zero popped into reality, sitting lazily on the couch at the far end of the room. Well played my alien friend. Well played indeed.

"Could you tell he was there?" Astor asked me, pointing at Zero.

"I get an instinct that he's around and cloaked, but I can't sense him like I can everyone else." I said calmly, knowing full well that someone would ask me how it is that I can sense other people. Fortunately for me, I've had this conversation many times before and so far have mastered the art of the 'short answer'.

"How exactly, can you sense us?" Roland asked with a bewildered look plaguing his face.

"I can control my own energy, right? Well I can feel the ebb and flow of other peoples life force as well. I'm pretty sure it's the demon but as of recently I've come to doubt that. I'm actually considering letting Tannis do her experiment on me." I said, in defeat. Everyone, including Zero just stopped and stared at me wide eyed. Zero had an exclamation mark displayed across his helmet. How cute.

"Really?" Axton asked me slowly.

"Yeah." I admitted.

"Tannis, it's Roland, Ten's on his way down to see you, he's given you full freedom to do as you like with him." Roland said quickly so that I didn't retract my statement.

"Tannis is waiting for you. Let her do her tests. That's an order." Roland smiled like he'd just secured a huge triumph.

"Pfft, like I'm doing it because you've ordered me." I said defiantly as I left the war room to go and find Tannis so that she could do her insane tests and get it out of the way.

* * *

Doctor Patricia Tannis. Everybody just calls her Tannis because it's easier. Damn why did I agree to this. If I had a choice between the two, I'd rather be eaten alive by another diseased Rakk Hive. Unfortunately, there's no choice anywhere in the mix. I have to let myself be subjected to whatever crazy thing she wants to do to me.

"So, I'm going to stick a big needle in your abdomen and watch your reaction." Tannis said to me joyfully.

"OK, what's in it?" I asked her, trying to remain calm.

"What's in what?" She asked me with confusion as I lay on Dr. Zed's operating table, which he'd rented out to Tannis. God knows why. He didn't hate me enough to do that for free at least.

"The needle." I said giving her a look.

"Oh right, haha, nothing at all." She said as she stabbed me in the stomach with the foot long needle. I think it just punctured one of my vital organs. Passing out. Everything is fading, I can see the black spots. Tannis is murmuring something but I can't hear her much, my hearing has gone wrong. Eyes blurring. Then a strong hatred towards that woman fills my body with heat. That's it. He's back at last.

'Took your sweet time.' I told him as he became a conscious under the need to kill and destroy things.

My blood is boiling now. The change is happening, but I don't mind, I've nearly passed out due to there being a big needle sticking out of my body. At least Tannis thought to sterilise it. I think. God she better have sterilised everything she's using.

'I don't remember what happened. I was here last night, we drank then… Did that really happen or am I imagining this?' Heat asked me. Sharing a mind had its uses, as I knew exactly what he was talking about. Even the images popped up in my head. Memories of Lilith and Maya making out with each other. Turns out that these sirens are a freaky bunch. No complaints though. Another set of memories which should never be told to anyone who wasn't initially there also came into mind.

'Yeah, that really did happen. I didn't believe it at first when I woke up not too long ago.' I said as I remembered that if I had a bucket list, that would have been crossed off from the top priority. The darkness crept over and soon enough, it was Heat that was in place of me, but even he hadn't got there in time. He quickly reverted back to my me and we passed out under the intensity. I could feel more things being jabbed around and into my body but for the life of me I didn't care. I was exhausted and couldn't place why. Oh well. I'm going to kill her if that needle is still there when I wake up.

* * *

I'm awake, but this isn't right, this doesn't feel real. Maybe I'm in a coma. Though I doubt I'd realise I'd be in a coma this quickly. The air doesn't feel like air. It feels like… Chemicals. That probably means that Tannis screwed up and Dr. Zed is making sure I'm breathing through one of those masks that feed you chemicals. Ah that's why this feels wrong. I'm higher than a kite.

OK, let's go exploring. At least I'm still in Sanctuary. It feels real to a certain extent, but then it's all wrong and the feeling that this is the reality disappears completely. It appears that due to housing both myself and Heat; that my mind isn't strong enough to fool me.

The citizens of Sanctuary aren't here, that's not right. I'm sure that my subconscious would put them in here. Someone's standing out in the courtyard, I'd better go and see what's going on in my fucked up mind.

I don't believe it. Heat is standing in the courtyard staring at me. Fiery aura and everything. So that's what I look like from the outside. I look like a flaming badass. I might turn into him more often.

"The gypsy told you a prophecy." He said loudly. It must be because he's also unconscious inside this shared mind. He wouldn't have needed to speak loud at all.

"I haven't even told Maya. Why does it matter?" I asked him unsure why he would bring this up in a chemical induced coma.

"Something stops me from seeing any more than the fact you went to her. Your mind is protecting it." He said. I just noticed his voice didn't fill me with fear or anger. I'm going to have to use this to my advantage.

"Well, if you can't see it I'm not going to go through the effort of telling you. It's a long prophecy." I told him as I looked away. Even in my own mind he'd could get what he wanted out of it.

"If you won't tell me I could always beat it out of you." He said without a trace of that sarcastic ability he'd drained from me.

"I am curious as to whether I'm stronger than you yet." I said as I paced towards him readying myself to meet him in combat.

"Tell me the prophesy and together we can end this charade." He said, trying to convince me otherwise about myself controlling this area of my mind.

"You really want to know the prophesy? OK, if you can even call it that. We use the Hybrid too much. He becomes another being. The gypsy told me that you are in fact not a demon. You are the pure embodiment of my own rage and suffering. She said that the Hybrid is actually already another being; the embodiment of my own self-image of perfect. He's got all of our strength's and none of our weaknesses." I said, trying my best to explain it.

"What weaknesses?" He asked me cockily.

I pointed my finger straight at him so he knew I was talking about him, "Pride. You could easily be blinded by pride and find yourself straight in a trap and defeated easily if the person and or being is smart enough." I sighed and pointed towards myself.

"I have love for other people. They can be used against me." I said uneasily.

Heat took this into account for a moment, then from the brim of his hood his eyes grew slightly dark and less dim. This is how I know he's concentrating on my words and had actually taken them into account.

"And the rest of this so called 'Prophesy'?" He asked me, clearly unhappy with the first half. I can't blame him. I wanted to kill the fortune teller straight away. But I obviously didn't. My own monstrous behaviours had been successfully separated into Heat.

"She called it 'The Fall of Pandora'. Basically we will all be separated and you will both be unchained by my counteracting personality. You will lose all sense of balance and will go on an unstoppable spree of death and destruction. Unless I stop you." I said, watching his reaction as he took this in.

"And the Hybrid?" He asked me, wondering what would set him off.

"Between then and now he will gain his own unique consciousness and probably rip my personality as well. He will destroy this planet and many more because he sees them as imperfect and a stain on the underpants of the universe. Unless I stop him." I said, using the same sentence finisher as before, it seemed appropriate at that point.

"How will you stop us? I'm stronger than you. He's leagues stronger and faster than both of us put together." Heat said.

"We should name him, I don't want to say Hybrid every time." I said, opening myself up to suggestions.

"Are you aware of the three elements to fire?" He asked. I'm almost certain he came up with this analogy because most of his body is on fire, but it sounds like he's actually got a suitable suggestion.

"Of course, what's your point?" I asked him.

He pointed to himself as he spoke then to me. "Heat, in this case you're the oxygen-" He said, he would have continued but I cut him off, impressed by his use of the three elements to fire. Regardless of whether he did that on purpose, that was actually very good.

"Fuel." I said, fingers on chin stroking a beard that wasn't there. The world began to tear itself apart, it was horrible. Earthquakes would never have reached Sanctuary in the air, this being caused by something up here.

The Hybrid or Fuel materialized himself into my warped reality, floating form the ground. That crackle of electricity circling him every now and then. He emanated pure power. It was impressive to say the least.

"You have named me." It said in a strange version of both of mine and Heat's collective voices. It wasn't a horrible combination, you could actually distinctly hear both of our voices talking in synchronisation. But maybe that was only due to my enhanced hearing, ordinary people might not pick up on the difference.

"Well that's not good." I said blandly.

"Not a single bit." Heat agreed. We were both standing looking at the Hybrid with our backs arched and our arms folded.

"Dude, you've ripped how I stand as well. You ass hole. Hey, you still think you're stronger than me? It might be our only chance to fight each other." I said with a grin that equalled his. When it came down to it, no one loved the thrill of a fight more than us.

We began to fight and then randomly we broke off and both attacked Fuel who needed no more engagement to attack either one of us. I thought that I'd regret it but as it turns out we're all on par. Or at least inside my mind we were. I doubt we were still as strong as Fuel on the outside. Not yet at least. I kept fighting right up until the point where the coma was ended and I had a rude awakening back into the real world.

* * *

As I opened my sore eyes I saw Moxxi sitting on a dirty looking chair in the corner of Zed's clinic. Why am I still in this dingy building. This is the last place someone should be when in need of medical attention.

"What?" I managed to ask, but it hurt to talk.

"Tannis went a bit too far. She got some interesting result, but we didn't know she was going to try to induce a coma by stabbing you in the stomach." Moxxi didn't look happy, besides the fact I must have just awoken from a coma.

"Well, you're still attractive, so I'm assuming I haven't been out of it very long?" I asked her. Shit the assault on Control Core Angel. Moxxi must have read my face because she looked relieved that my memory was sound.

"It's not even started yet. Perhaps if you use the fast travel to Thousand Cuts you can still get in on the action." Moxxi said with a smile as I stood and realised that I've got a massive hole in my stomach.

"Um. That's not right." I said casually. But I dismissed it quickly. An insta-heal will patch that up nicely. Then I can re-join the fight.

"The sirens?" I asked her with a hopeful expression. I doubt they'd boy off the assault just to stay in my bed with each other. But on the off chance they were, then so would I.

"Gone." Moxxi shook her head.

"Anyone?" I asked, realising that everyone had their positions in the assault. I was meant to lead the ground team. I'm not going to go back on my promise because some bat shit crazy doctor impaled me with a three foot needle. It sounds like a pretty solid excuse when said like that, but this isn't the time to argue with myself.

"They're all out. For all intents and purposes Sanctuary is only being defended by myself, Marcus and Hammerlock." She said with a displeased voice.

"And Gaige's secret weapon." I said as casually as ever.

"Sorry, what?" Moxxi clearly hadn't been told about Gaige's defences.

"Oh, she must not have told anyone yet. Well you didn't hear this from me, but Gaige built some digi-struct platforms and calibrated some heavy automated turrets onto them. At the push of a button Sanctuary is defended by eight huge cannons which can have selected fire over air vehicles and a more précises firing setting for hostile ground mobiles." I said, retaining my calm attitude.

"That girl is wondrous. Now get going, they really will need you." Moxxi said as I nodded and passed her to go to the fast travel.

"Wait, there's something else. Marcus thought you might need a bit more firepower." Moxxi said as she held up my harness which no longer had my dual .500 magnums in it.

"What the hell are those?" I asked in disbelief as my eyes spied upon the two beautifully crafted weapons of death sitting comfortably in my holsters. One was a dark blood red metal with writing on the side of it and the other was jet black with gold trimming. They were beautiful.

"The Howitzer and the Jackal." She said, firstly pointing to the black one then the red metal one.

"They-" I was about to praise them but Moxxi stopped me.

"Shut up, it's my turn to talk technical sugar. Both the Howitzer and the Jackal have a point six hundred calibre nitrous shell casings. These bad boys won't just pierce armour. They will blow it away. You'll notice that each gun is slightly different. The Howitzer serves hollow point bullets which cause extra damage to targets and those hollow points were filled with caps of napalm, turning every target you hit into a living or robotic pilot light. The Jackal on the other hand has hand tailored dum dum bullets. And if you're not familiar with those then you soon will be. The bullets are engraved such a way that upon impact they expand into the target causing some near explosive results." Moxxi looked like she'd just experienced the world's best orgasm with the face she was displaying.

"Oh my god. I think I'm love." I said as I went to take the guns.

"Speaking off. I feel left out from your fiasco with the sirens. There's a toll if you want these guns." Moxxi said holding them away from me.

"Look Moxxi, any other time and I would more than happily have sex with you, but now is extremely bad timing to be holding what's going to be my two favourite guns away from me." I complained like a child.

"Oh the toll isn't sex. Not yet anyway. Just a kiss." She said. I get the feeling I'm being played.

"Wait, you plan to hold my other objects ransom?" I asked her with annoyance in my voice. How long were people going to do this to me?

"I already have. Your guitar is in a secure location. Unless I get what I want. Now." Moxxi looked proud of herself.

"I'm not kissing you Moxxi. Things are screwed up around here as it is. Last night was a terrible move. Now give me that. And holding my guitar hostage is not a good move. You'll get what you want one day, but it might not be what you expected." I said as I grabbed my holster that showed off my muscular upper body and ran to the fast travel. Now to get to my friends.

* * *

Holy shit, as soon as I stepped through the fast travel I saw how high the raiders were in deep. The frontal area of the slab encampment had been taken over and there were four ultra-loaders that acted as mobile tank units holding damn near everyone down against some flimsy barriers basically on the fast travel.

A tank missile closely missed my face as I casually moved out of it's path. No one had seen me yet which was good. Time to make my entrance. I pulled my new hand cannons out of their respective holsters and shot a bullet from each at every target on the battlefield. The loaders fell one by one with the sound of my guns blazing. They were loud to say the least. They sounded like automatic pistons going into overdrive.

"Oh my god!" Gaige shouted, cupping her ears as I lowered my guns to my sides. Everything was dead and she was angry that I'd fired a loud weapon near her ears.

"Flashy entrance right?" I asked her ignoring her protests.

"Your timing couldn't have been better." Astor said gladly as we all advanced on the enemy. We blazed through the remaining Hyperion ranks. Everyone had thought in advance to get some corrosive weaponry. It helps unless you can get guns like mine. Why get something that rapidly eats through it when you can go on an explosive overkill. Maybe not exactly explosive per say, but the results are damn near. Nearly invisible eruption fields followed in the destruction of whatever they hit. So basically explosions without the visual effects.

"What exactly do we need to do?" I asked Roland, so as to refresh my memory.

"Half us of will continue as planned and follow you on an assault route directly up the main path. It's a suicide bet but if anyone can do it, it's you. The other half and what's going to be the more agile half will follow me up the cliff face where resistance is minimal to none and infiltrate from there. Angel explicitly told us not to let Lilith, Maya or Fuse in her chambers so they're going to form a resistance team that will follow you to the base of the cliff and fight off anything that emerges after you." Roland plan was solid enough.

"There's a connection there. They're all sirens. I don't expect you all to understand straight away, just don't be surprised when it happens." I said. Everyone looked at me like I was speaking in riddles.

"Whatever, let's just get going." Axton said as he began with half the team, leaving me with the sirens.

I didn't like the idea of leaving them to face off against a ton of Hyperion forces so I gave Maya and Lilith one of the hand cannons each and gave Fuse my Maliwan Hellfire. All of my weapons will easily rip through Hyperion so I felt better about that at least.

"That leaves you with one gun." Lilith pointed out.

"So it does." I said and gave it to her.

"What are you doing?" Maya asked me as she pulled me aside and motioned for the other two to catch up with Axton.

"Making sure you're all safe." I said.

"But you've got no way of defending yourself." She stated the obvious.

"Please, I'm a badass, I don't need weapons. But seriously. I've made love to all three of you in the past day or whatever, I'm not going to just leave you to fight off whatever Hyperion throws at you without insurance of sorts. You saw what these babies did to those ultra-loaders. One shot each." I loved it, they're amazing. It's just a shame about whatever is going to happen in Angel's core.

"Fine, let's just go. I know you're planning something crazy, let's just get it over with. Come back to me in one piece and maybe I'll let Moxxi indulge herself." Maya said as she gave me a quick 'good luck' kiss.

"How do you know about that? Do you know where she's holding my guitar ransom?" I asked her. It's an inappropriate battle topic but I had to ask.

"Oh my god, she's that desperate? Wow, no I have no idea, let's just get back to the others already." Maya laughed as I grabbed her waist and we quickly covered the distance over to where the rest of my team were waiting for Claptrap to disable the gate.

"You, my fierce minions must pay a toll to pass my barrier of death!" He laughed maniacally.

"Please, spare me this bullshit." I whined as I flew onto the other side and jammed my fist into the power box. The field fell short and disappeared completely.

"The fuck, you can fly!?" Handsome Jack had joined the ECHO net to taunt us no doubt. I kind of enjoyed it. It's a shame he's tried to kill me. Handsome Jack is the kind of guy I would really get along with.

"You saw me flying. When I trashed your satellite, did you not?" I replied. There was an almost audible silence before the ECHO cut off.

"What's your plan?" Axton asked me, serious for the first time since he put a bullet in my head.

"I'll bring the other guy out. Who's name is Fuel. Bad idea, trust me, but it must be done. Heat you ready?" I asked the being of rage festering on my soul. Those were harsh words, he's really starting to grow on me. Like a little brother. No, that's just weird, let's stick with festering.

_'Ready.'_ He told me, and we began to change into our advanced form, now known as the Fuel to the fire. Pain followed by the demons own bloodlust and before much time had gone past, the Hybrid had emerged and was mowing down enemies like nothing you've ever seen.

Next stop. Control Core Angel.

* * *

My every movement was a united action between my own body and mind conjoined with that of Heat's. It was beautiful if you can learn to appreciate such a high degree of killing and destructive power that it.

The sirens are OK doing their thing at the gates, plus the fact they've all got my super awesome weapons to keep themselves safe. Axton took over my team; I'm fine with that, if anyone could do it its Axton. Maybe Astor but not with a unit this big.

"Woah, this is new, who are you?" Jack asked me through the ECHO, sounding cautious in case I was tricking him. What I would gain from that though.

"Your petty mortal life does not concern me. Do not cross my path and you shall live another day." Fuel added. I guess he didn't share that same hatred for Jack that me and Heat did. Oh well, he probably would in time. We shouldn't spend much more time fused anyway, Fuel will become his own separate entity if we do. That would be bad. Very bad.

"Oh man, I can't wait to hook you up to an extraction machine and see what comes out." Jack giggled like a school girl.

"You will not succeed." Fuel said. I've got to admit it, he's kind of a badass.

'_Time to split_. It's too straining on us.' Heat said from somewhere else inside the collective mind.

'Agreed.' I responded and we began to diffuse our bodies, he retreated back into the subconscious and I took dominance. As per usual.

"Holy shit!" I shouted out. We were in mid-air and began to free fall. I had temporarily forgotten how to fly. Temporarily all the way to the ground. I smashed into it and caused a huge crater. That's nice, it means that my body is become more damage resistant. Even my bones are becoming harder.

"I've got to admit, that was pretty badass." Jack mumbled over the ECHO before leaving me to deal with a super badass constructor. Fun!

"Feel free to back me up here guys! Like anyone at all! I'm weapon less." I shouted over the ECHO but I didn't hear a reply. Instead I nearly got blown up. The main shot from the constructor's cannon passed right above my head. A few inches lower and I'd be dead.

"Never mind." I said with grit back on the ECHO. I decided that I'd take this constructor on one on one with my bare fists.

I jumped and used my legendary speed to build up a fatal momentum that I used to smash through three of its legs causing it to drop on one side, confusion filled its sensors as to where I'd gone. Then I swung my body round the back of it and climbed up until I was facing the main cannon. I took it in both of my hands and borrowed some of Heat's power in order to rip this gigantic cannon from its bearing. Luckily it still had a firing mechanism and a huge roll of plasma ammunition still attached. I fired of a few rounds in the bare hole that I'd previously made, and the constructor went down. Then it sparked from the insides before exploding. I was long gone by that time.

"Calling anyone on this frequency, this is Ten, I am at the base of Control Core Angel. I repeat, I am at the base. I'm available to aid, over." I don't know why I said 'over' at the end of it, it just felt right given the sufficient combat situation.

"Ten, change of plans. The sirens are coming with us, Lilith will teleport them away at the last moment. But we're in trouble. We're surrounded from the eastern face of the outpost. We need air support but all of the buzzards nearby are down. Do you copy?" Someone said over the ECHO. I don't know who it was because the signal was being chopped up by the sheer amounts of jet loaders circling what I assume is that large group in need of assistance. What the hell let's do it.

"I copy. Ten out, air assistance is on its way." I said. Now for the fireworks so to speak. I ran over to a close edge to the cliff and leaped with the massive cannon still in my arms. I took aim as best I could with what could easily be described as a weapon of mass jealously from other explosives aficionados, and fired continuously until the cannon had run out of ammo. I could see the group was relieved to see me. I threw the cannon at the remaining jet loaders as I thundered through a group more and landed in the middle of everyone.

"Guns!" I shouted not explaining any more than that. Immediately Lilith and Maya put the massively heavily hand cannons in my hands and Fuse came up holding my Maliwan Hellfire. I didn't need it at the moment. So I merely shook my head.

I was in the zone, my efficiency seemed to be massively bolstered due to Heat's sated bloodlust. He was obviously seeping power into me and that I was fine with.

I had speed loaders precisely calibrated for these two guns all handing from my holsters complete with a shiny black steel and red chrome finished. I threw them into the air and fired whatever was left in those guns at the jet loaders swarming overhead. I took down five of them. Not bad when you only have three bullets right?

By the time the speed loaded magazine chambers were on their way back to Pandora I'd already ejected the old lot and anticipated their trajectory, landing them perfectly inside their respective guns. I flipped them both instantaneously and began to fire and the most imminent targets around.

"Lilith! Get these people to the top of the cliff, now!" I shouted as I realised that something drastic would need to be done to survive. Lilith had managed to warp everybody but myself and Maya. Gaige had commanded Death Trap to stay behind as well. His command programming wasn't meant to be covered over a huge distance though and as soon as Lilith took Gaige through the phase thing she does when she teleports, Death Trap rescinded back into Gaige's mechanical arm.

"This isn't looking good." I said to Maya as I emptied yet another set of bullet chambers. My kill count was off the record. If you counted killing robots anyway.

"I know. If this goes wrong. Just promise me you won't do anything stupid." She wouldn't look at me, had she figured out what I had? Probably not.

"I'm not making any promises. Just make sure that you get your ass out of here before it's too late, I'm serious. I have the feeling that the outcome of this assault is dependent on either you sirens or me." I said gravely. I knew someone would be dying today. But I'd never let it be those beautiful sirens.

What have they done to me!? I find myself harbouring thoughts of love and compassion for every single one of them, when suddenly something that someone had said before, probably Moxxi.

'Power attracts power.'

"That son of a bitch!" I shouted in pure fury.

"What is it!" Maya shouted back, ducking out of the way of a diving jet loader.

"I've been played again. Lilith! Get Maya out of here! I'm going to burn this place to the ground!" I shouted over the ECHO as I handed my guns back to Maya.

Lilith appeared the disappeared almost instantly. She had for all intents and purposes mastered the art of teleportation.

Time for you bastards to burn. I thought to myself as I took Heat's power for my own.

"Angel, I want everyone to see this." I said darkly as a noise confirmed that my ECHO was broadcasting video.

I exploded, I mean I literally exploded, with anger and hate and fury. I'd become overburdened with anger so deep that not even Heat could use it as power. I don't even know why. Maybe a slow build up. I certainly wasn't angry at Moxxi, because while she may have used clever word paly to trick me, it ended up with me having the best sex of my life with three sirens.

Everything nearby died. If robots could. I exploded expelling all of this deep anger and caused a blood red explosion of nuclear proportions. Well low yield of course. It wasn't large enough to reach from the base of the mountain over to where Lilith had taken everyone.

The video feed was still on. I was lying in a crater caused by anger. Barely alive.

"Lilith, can – can you come get me? I think I'm broken. Like completely broken." I said before I let another wave of adrenaline wash over me. If I could last then I'm sure someone would have an isnta-heal. Nearly there. We're nearly at Control Core Angel.

* * *

**Please review the story if you liked it, it keeps me going! :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"Oh baby, that's better." I said as I got two insta-heals shoved into my shoulder. Boy these things really pack a punch.

"Right let's go. Lilith take yourself and these two back to Sanctuary. Gaige activate your turrets but put them in sleeper mode. Obviously keep the targeting system and the friend or foe ranking systems online. That way it should activate if there's a threat, correct?" I asked her, she just nodded and sent a message to her computer back in Sanctuary, and I assume it uploaded some programs or something that did exactly what I said. That's when I noticed the little green dude standing next to Gaige.

"Oh, you decided to come alone did you?" I asked him. Gen, he's been around for a while now. He's more than proven himself on the occasions that I've met him. And it's good that Gaige has someone her age to hang around with. It wouldn't be very healthy for someone Gaige's age to be hanging around someone like me. I've just murdered a ton of Hyperion employees. I recently got injected with multiple chemicals which brought on a coma that was infused with a drug high the day before that I downed a bottle of whiskey and had sex with three women at a time. The following morning I marched through the town centre naked in order to get new clothes. I'm a bad influence.

"Yup. I've decided you guys are in some serious need for heavy hitters." Gen replied, rather cockily as well. Heavy hitters? Myself, Krieg and Salvador weren't heavy enough. Brick was somewhere up in a buzzard pissing off some Hyperion combat engineers.

"Dude… You're not even old enough to drink. How are you a heavy hitter?" I asked the Splicer. One of his many nicknames.

"Watch and learn old man." Old man? How old do these people think I am? He pulled a green phial that was attached to an injector basin out of his bandoleer. I've observed him do this before. It's some kind of strength serum or something. I don't know.

He injected his left leg and immediately his eyes began to change to a bright green as opposed to their usual dark green colour. He moved like lightning. So he was fast, that doesn't make him a heavy hitter. He slammed his body into the big metal door a few times and after a minute or so, the massive doors had caved on a small spot where he'd continually sieged against them. It wasn't a huge hole but it was definitely an entrance to the lifts that would take everyone to the top floor.

"What do you think of that oldie?" He asked me. Right time to show him.

"Oldie? I think you missed one of the doors. I'll get that for you." I said calmly. Everyone immediately stepped away from me and Gen frowned. They wouldn't move unless there was a serious chance of damage happening in my immediate area. They probably all thought I was about to transform into Heat and let him at the doors. A half-truth at best.

I had already acclimated myself with Heat's power by now, the difference was significant but I managed it and now I can use it whenever I want. There isn't much difference between his power and mine when it comes down to their various forms. He can launch explosive fireballs and that's about all I can't do.

I pushed at the air with my hand outstretched and felt the fire boil my blood from my shoulder right down to my fingertips as the energy began to build up to its full potential within a mere second. I released it all at the door and it shot like a bullet, barely able to be seen by the naked eye. The door exploded straight off its hinge and because of the angle Gen had left it at; it was propelled towards us. I used my right hand and gave what felt like a one ton uppercut that sent the heavy metal door flying into the air, narrowly missing one of Brick's buzzards.

Feeling pleased with myself I turned back to the splicer. "Kid you've got a lot to learn, but you've got a lot of potential. I'll tell you what, come see me when we're back in Sanctuary and I'll teach you a thing or two that nobody else can." I said as I shot him a wink.

"No, no, no, no, no! You will not teach him anything! It's bad enough we've got you flying around unstoppable, but if you taught him how to do your thing it would be the end of the world as we know it! He's a mischievous disaster of mayhem waiting to happen!" Gaige shouted in protest.

"Most of that didn't make sense to me. But I was only going to teach him how to fly. Maybe." I said. I'm not sure if that even can be taught but at the very least it would keep him from causing mayhem around Sanctuary. He's already blown up my bedroom once. This was before I stayed at Sanctuary as a permanent arrangement. God it feels like such a long time ago that I'd been living in caves and staying away from these people for what I assumed was their own safety. Now only a few weeks on I treat these people as my family. They ARE my family.

I turned to Gen suddenly realising what he may have thought I meant, "Sorry kid, but whatever you're thinking I can't teach you how to change into a fiery demon. That's something only I can do fortunately." I said, seeing the disappointment in his eyes.

"But you're a scientist, you're the second smartest in your field on Pandora, I'm sure if you collaborate with your aunt you'd probably find some solution that would give you a super buff like this." I said motioning my ability to fly.

"Wait, who's your aunt?" Lilith asked, trying to think of who the best scientist on Pandora. She must have felt confused because she could clearly only think of Tannis.

"Patricia Tannis." Gen said glumly, barely acknowledging the idea of working with her as she was crazy even by his account.

"That explains a lot." Axton laughed before deciding that the conversation had reached its end and walked into the elevator.

I simply nodded and held my hand out to receive my weapons from Maya who handed them over with ease. I feel whole again, damn I love these guns.

"Woah." Gen said in awe as he saw my overkill weapons. Still feeling slightly bad for him I felt around my trousers, I'm sure I kept them here somewhere. Ah there they are. I couldn't sell them or plainly get rid of them, they'd helped me out of way too many situations.

"Here you go, take care of these, and be careful, the kickback is powerful." I said as I handed Gen my dual Smith and Wesson five hundred calibre hand cannons. Less powerful than my point seven hundred nitrous rounds but still strong enough to take down damn near any enemy the kid will face. He nodded and I felt better already. He didn't need to be treated like a child. Soon he'd be by description an adult anyway, but sometimes it helped to have things made simpler.

"Everybody in, we're losing time here." Axton announced and everybody piled into the elevator.

"Are you not coming?" Fuse asked me as she pet her new weapon that I'd let her keep. The Hellfire, powerful enough to burn through metal as easily as acid.

"What, in the elevator? Pfft, no." I said with a sarcastic face as I suddenly put a knee to the ground and pushed upwards with all my strength, reaching the top of the tower in under ten seconds.

"Show-off!" Salvador chuckled over the ECHO net. Before he terminated his call, I heard the elevator crank into gear behind him somewhere and the group began to ascend. I'd see them soon enough, but for now, it's time to impress people even more and turn this platform filled with loaders into a brand new scrapyard; open for business today!

* * *

Standing in a heap of scrap that used to be my enemy and I've realised that I really need my own theme tune.

"Angel, can you find me an appropriate theme tune to play out loud whenever I do something epic?" I asked her over the ECHO net.

"OK, try this." She said as a song began to play and I did my thing mowing down more waves of Hyperion bots. No it's a bit too heavy on the guitar.

"What is it?" I asked Angel, lightly.

"Megadeth - Duke Nukem." She said. I think she's a fan. Not bad theme to be fair, just not my thing.

"Yeah, it's not really working for me, something a little bit lighter than that. I like guitars but something not so heavy perhaps. Something I can really get into the rhythm with. If I sing along you get extra points." I joked, unsure what she give me, I began to defend myself against another wave. The lift on the lower level pinged and my friend piled out ready to meet the waves upon waves of Hyperion with bullets and fury. But I'd already made a mess out of them, all the way up to where I was fighting now.

"Here you go." Angel said and the guitar kicked in, a nice tune, not heavy but still with significant guitar dominance to the track, then the lyrics kicked in.

'Revvin' up your engine

Listen to her howlin' roar'

It was blaring out of my ECHO unit. Everyone within twenty meters of me would be able to hear this song clearly.

"Angel what is this amazing tune?"

'Metal under tension

Beggin' you to touch and go'

"Kenny Loggins." She said casually. I don't think she's as much a fan of this guy than the other one.

'Highway to the Danger Zone'

"That's it! This is my theme tune, and that will be my new catch phrase!" I shouted with joy.

"Oh dear god, what is?" Someone said from behind me. I don't know who, but it was female and that was enough for me, I'd already started my sexy turn, I hope it wasn't Gaige.

"For you; I would take the highway right into the danger zone." I said seductively slowly looking from female to female, not keeping Gaige out of it. All of the females were staring at me with open mouths. Lilith and Maya went red in the face, though Lilith played it off as being a red head and it naturally happening from time to time. Maya had no excuse for it though. Fuse faced away purposefully so I couldn't really say and Gaige just jumped right into battle with Krieg who hadn't paid any attention to my antics in the first place.

"Hey assholes, here's how things are going to happen, my bunker is going to kill you. End of story." Handsome Jack said cheerfully.

"Oh dear, that means the bunker isn't a place." I said unhappily. Clearly he's built some sort of super loader.

"Bingo jackass. The bunker is the single greatest defence bot ever built. Naturally it was me that designed this beauty." While Jack was ranting the strange object that had been obstructing the path to the waterfall had slowly risen into the air and rotated to reveal many eyes and cannon digistruct pads. This is going to be a bitch to kill.

"BN-KR, command sequence; kill. Priority; Ten." Jack said.

Why always me? Bastard.

"Identified target, assuming eradication protocols." The bunker said in the Hyperion trademark automated voice box.

"Would you say it's near indestructible Jack?" I asked out loud.

"Damn near, have fun jackass. I'll see you in hell." He said smugly.

"Yeah, I'll save you a spot at the bar." I replied.

"Ten? Buddy, you got a plan?" Axton asked as he slowly rose his gun at the Bunker.

"Yeah survive. Come and get me Bunkered bitch!" I shouted out. I'm not entirely convinced that loaders and other robots respond to taunts and goading. I'm sure that they want to kill you as much as before without any sort of risen anger level. Oh well, it amuses me none the less.

I flew off the platform, taking the heat off of the others as the bunker chased me around the air, firing mines at me. MINES! Who fires mines at someone. I mean come on they won't even expl- HOLY SHIT! They have a remote detonation!

"OK bad boy, let's do things your way." I said to myself as I spun my body around to face the bunker but kept flying away from it. I fired my guns until both chambers were empty, that's sixteen bullets all scattered around the front facing panel of the bunkers thick metal plating. The dum dum bullets were starting to make visible dents inside the panelling however and after a few more rounds that big ass armour would fall to the ground revealing it's more sensitive core.

I reloaded then unloaded into the bunker which had pretty much caught up to me and had brought out one big ass cannon. Seriously, it made the one from the constructor look like a puny hand gun.

"Holy shit… That is a big ass gun…" Brick said slowly as I landed on the platform and gazed up in awe as it began to pulse at the brim with a purple laser that kept building up.

"Has anybody got a low yield nuclear grenade?" I asked randomly, I didn't expect anyone to have one but Krieg put something in my hand a heavy modern looking grenade that expanded in my hand to become even bigger.

"Krieg?" I asked him, as if to question what the hell he just handed me.

"BIG BADDA BOOM!" Krieg chuckled as he ran off to go and destroy more loaders.

"Big badda boom huh? Yeah, I understand boom my good friend." I said as I jumped out of the way of the laser that had been building up from the bunker. I was going to stand in the way and take it like a boss but as it happens I chose the right idea. The laser melted a huge whole in the floor.

"I'm not getting caught in that." I decided out loud as I leapt into the sky and pushed the top of Krieg's grenade and when it started pulsing blue I decided that was the time to put it elsewhere. I crammed it into the opening of the Bunker's exposed front panel, but as I was about to make my exit the bunker ejected some of the panels throwing me backwards as it flew forwards. It collapsed some of its other panels trapping my left arm in the process. It was a trap all along. This was the idea and I fell for it.

"I was never arrogant enough to assume that even my strongest bot could take you out. But you can be tricked. And now you're about to be blown into oblivion. There was always the problem of getting you to stay attached to my bunker here, but it seems to have solved that problem. Goodbye old friend. I'll see you in hell for that drink." Jack said as he signed off the ECHO net for good. I could almost see that smug smirk forming on his face. He'd really done me over good this time.

"Old friend?" Roland asked over the ECHO clearly not knowing what had been happening up on the platform.

"Not now Roland!" I responded as I tried to get my arm free. There was no way it was moving, something inside the bunker had placed around me.

"Well guys, it looks like this is going to be my last rodeo. It's been good. Do what you have to in order to stop Jack. I have nothing but faith and love for you guys!" I said over the ECHO. It seems that Jack had implemented a countdown so that I knew exactly when my doom would be.

"NO!" Maya shouted. Poor Maya. I never would have thought it would end this way.

"Lilith can teleport you down or something!" She shouted desperately.

"I'm so sorry Ten. You're too far away and I could never keep up with it to take you back with me." Lilith said.

"Angel connect all of the video feeds together." I said sternly, adamant that I wouldn't give them a reason to decrease morale.

"We've had a long run. We've done some amazing things. I only ask two things. Firstly you keep my guitar safe and secondly you kill Jack. Those are in order of importance obviously." I said. That got a few laughs going. There were a few tears here and there. I couldn't help it. I felt awesome right now. There's nothing more adrenaline pumping that being flown towards your death.

"You can't leave me." Maya was barely audible right now.

_'If you won't do something I will.' _Heat said as he began to fight me fore control. I was having none of it though. This bunker was the strongest metal in most probably this side of the universe. Not even he would be able to break through it.

"You're right. I can't." I said as the anger flared through every fibre in my being and I broke free of the chains to my mortal coil. I hadn't died before you start thinking it. I just no longer had to be subjected to mortal inflictions. It was a mental break in my mind. My reality had snapped at my will and sheer determination to not leave those who truly mattered to me.

My body done something similar to the power signature that belonged to Lilith, I had phased my wrist free of the bunker and not too soon either. My body was back in my own reality and I had been pushed into free-fall right above the platform everyone was on.

"Look, he's gotten free!" Someone shouted. I can't hear it too well my mind is fading from consciousness, using a new form of power takes nearly all of my energy. It's taking every ounce of my reserves just to stay awake. The explosion was huge. Krieg's grenade evidently hadn't made much of a difference due to the bunker being packed with explosives anyway but I felt the shockwaves from it propel me towards the platform none the less. This is going to really, really hurt.

I impacted on the platform causing a massive shockwave to throw everyone back a few meters and sand, dirt, scraps of broken robot and concrete floor to fly in every direction, and before I knew it everyone was crowding round me.

"Ouch." I said quietly.

"OH MY GOD, ARE YOU OK!?" Someone asked. Female, frantic tone, it must be Maya. My eyelids are too heavy now, I can just reply to the blindness.

"I just fell from the fucking sky. I'm fan-fucking tasting." I said sarcastically as I faded in and out of unconsciousness. By the time I came back around Roland was here with their agile team and they'd used five insta-heals on the most damaged parts of my body. I still felt exhausted but I'm at least strong enough to fight again. Now we're really almost at Control Core Angel.

* * *

"Of for fuck sakes, that gypsy was right!" I shouted in frustration as I felt the presence of Fuel being divided inside my mind. Great, another jackass who's' likely going to copy my personality. Three of me? That's a recipe for destruction and or madness.

"What's wrong?" Roland asked me as he quickly checked me from head to toe to make sure I wasn't about to explode with anger.

"What gypsy?" Salvador asked me with a dangerous look on his face. Had he some dark history hat oddly involved gypsies and fortune tellers? It wouldn't surprise me, it's Salvador.

"It's not important who she was, but more than what she told me is becoming more correct by the day." I said with a grave expression donning my face. It's true. Fuel has his own conscious inside my mind now. There is no forming a fusion between myself and Heat to achieve that super status, I'm going to have to find one for myself and myself only.

I'll work on that when we've solved this Hyperion problem, Jesus H Christ I've got a lot on my plate. Not only do I still have to aid in the downfall of Hyperion, but have the Death's Messengers and their psychotic, mutated leader to deal with. To top all that off I'm also going to have to fight off my bad moods that have been given a physical form.

"We'll talk about this later, for now we're going to have to carry on with the mission. We're close, let's not stop now." Roland said; see, this is why he's our leader. Go team Roland! Ha, just kidding.

"Sirens. Leave now." Axton said sternly but frankly he didn't have any power over them whatsoever.

"No." Fuse said as she carried on towards the security locked doors.

* * *

The door's barricade had been disabled with the bunker destroyed. Something Jack oversaw in the design phase obviously. Krieg had been given the critical mission to compile voice clips from Handsome Jack's various information kiosks in his golden gilded city of Opportunity. And as such he was the first person to wear the voice modulator altering his voice to that of Handsome Jack's.

"The password is 'I love you.'" Angel said with a depressive sigh. Robots cant sigh. I fucking knew it!

"I fucking knew it!" I shouted out, attracting some odd looks, people though I meant about the password.

"Not the password. You'll see. Oh Krieg before you take that thing off." I said as I walked up to him and whispered something in his ear before backing off.

"My name is Handsome Jack and I love penis." Krieg said in the voice of Handsome Jack. It was his sophisticated mood swing which he had brought round just for the special occasion of making Handsome Jack sound gay. Well worth it.

The doors swished open once Krieg had said the correct passphrase and we all piled in. The sirens refused to leave so there would be no way around it. If things got dire they could always just teleport at the last second.

"There's some good news and some bad news." Angel said with yet another deep sigh.

"The bad news." I said instantly.

"You have to deal with me in order to get the vault key, and it's nearly finished charging." She said, almost caught out by me wanting the bad news first.

"The good news?" Krieg's sophisticated mood asked.

"The vault key is right through this door and to my chambers. But maybe I should explain a few things anyway while I'm unlocking the outer door. The vault key needs to be charged via a special catalyst. The catalyst is so unique that only six women have the power to do it in the whole universe." Angel said.

No way!

"Lilith! Get out of here now! Take the other two with you!" I shouted in frustration, but after seeing exactly what Angel was talking about, she couldn't deny that I was right.

"Angel… You're not only not a computer." I began and the doors unlocked.

"The catalyst needs…" She began.

"But you're a…" I stopped for dramatic effect as Angel appeared in full view of everyone, a beautiful dark haired siren with white clothes and white wings with a huge span.

"A siren." We both said as once. I was mesmerised, she was beautiful and truly worthy of the name 'Angel.'. I felt incredibly depressed when the light around her faded and I fully saw all of the bindings in and around her personal bubble, which was actually a personal bubble.

"Get the hell away from my daughter!" Handsome Jack screamed as something pulled Angel away from us and back into the containment field.

Everyone else took up arms and began to defend against the oncoming waves of Hyperion.

"Get the injectors! They're keeping me alive. You destroy those and the vault key wont charge!" Angel shouted. I could barely hear anything on the outside world. I couldn't believe that a human being would do this to someone else, let alone their owndaughter. I wouldn't do this to my worst enemy.

I slowly walked towards the bubble where Angel could do nothing but watch the outside world wage war all around her. For that brief moment I could feel a connection on an emotional level. She either had the power to force me to sympathise with her, but judging by the look on her face it was something I was doing.

I was at the bubble and I found myself fighting against the urge to destroy this whole place and go on a murderous spree. But then I had no urge to do anything violent. I was just sad. No anger, no fierce fighting spirit, I just found sadness dwelling in my being. I put a hand to the shield and felt it subtly resisting against the small force I applied. Angel was standing less than a meter away from me, floating in the air. She out stretched her hand and put it against mine. I tried to push mine further in but the shield wouldn't budge.

I looked around the room for a brief second to analyse what was going on, the shields had come over the injectors and Roland was climbing up a wall in order to get to the first injector panel to expose it.

I looked back at the bubble and Angel read my expression and knew what I was going to try doing.

I pulled my hand away slowly and walked into the bubble. With its smart technology it actually let me half way before locking my body in place. This is where my years of physical conditioning and mental willpower come in. My raw strength had been increased tenfold over the past few weeks. My natural durability and my healing abilities had been amped up beyond recognition. Any lesser man would have been incinerated by the intensity of the bubble shield. I could see that much in Angel's eyes as they filled up with hope. When I kept pushing, forbidding myself to leave this poor girl in the hands of that monster.

A couple of weeks ago I would have said that I'm the worst monster to ever grace the universe with my presence, I learned today that in fact, that role was filled by none other than Handsome Jack.

I kept pushing. My skin burning away, piece by piece revealing a wet layer of muscles underneath, it truly was the most painful experience in my entire life, bar none. The hair on my body began to singe and burn away with the rest of my clothes. Now I can't back out because I'm completely naked, I would look a fool. But if I could make it through and shut off the barrier from the inside then I could end this once and for all without harming this girl.

A huge bang erupted from somewhere to my left, then I realised that it was actually my eardrum, it didn't matter though, I was at least eighty percent through the barrier and it was only my right arm and right leg left. I pulled my arm through and then my leg. I'd made it, I couldn't believe I'd actually made it.

I ripped the collar off of Angel's neck and instantly the barrier and the key dropped to the ground.

"Lilith, no time, in and out, Angel is a siren, get her out of here now." By the time Roland had finished saying that order, Lilith had done exactly that and Angel had been taken to the safety of Sanctuary, leaving just us left.

"Now we've got the vault key and thanks to Ten we've saved Angel. There's not much time left we've got to get back to Sanctuary." Roland said, everyone nodded but nobody heard the familiar sound of the fast travel network being used. I managed to throw Roland out of the way in time, but I got shot twice in the ribs. My body might be more durable than everyone else's but it still hurts the same amount.

"Go, hard strike team stay and defend!" Astor announced and on his words, everyone but Salvador and Krieg ran for the exit.

"What's that saying, don't pick a fight with a man with nothing left to lose? See now that you've got my Angel, there's no guarantee she's still alive. But I've got you now so nothing else matters." Handsome Jack said as he smiled to himself about the thought of conflicting untold horrors onto me.

Handsome Jack placed a collar identical to the one of Angel, around my neck.

"See, I needed a siren, but after my head scientist, Nakyama, did some tests on a DNA sample we scavenged from one of your destructive sites. We found out that you're DNA houses an energy signature much like the sirens, only times that by like a billion, you're going to be my new battery charger. It'll be fun, you'll be doing my work, I'll be torturing you." Jack said, but before anything else was said I had a sudden surge of energy flow through my body.

The collar around my neck broke as my body double in shape and Heat became a physical being alongside me and I fell to my knees, he'd done it. But I could feel the physical anchor tying his being to my body. I die, he dies. But there was no time.

"Get them to safety, don't worry about me!" I shouted as Jack casually popped another collar onto my neck. This one felt stronger. It hadn't been two seconds before I looked up and Heat had blasted a whole in the wall and was flying out there with Salvador and Krieg held in each arm. This isn't going to be fun, I can feel the eridium starting to flow freely through my body. What Jack probably hasn't suspected yet though, is that the eridium is super charging my body at the same time. Unconsciousness is always the victor when I do these crazy things.

* * *

"Oh the horrible things I'm going to do to you." Handsome Jack entered the dimly lit room. I was being held in chains a big metal bar bound my arms behind my head. Still naked and my body is drenched with sweat from the exhaustion of charging this bloody vault key. They'd better get here quickly and save my ass. I can still faintly feel a connection between me and Heat. That either means that he's becoming strong enough to become his own being which is unlikely, or that I'm dying which is highly likely.

'Heat?' I asked him, wondering whether or not he could still communicate from within our mind.

'**He's not here. His subconscious left with his body, but his whole being is still anchored to your soul.**' Fuel said.

'I can feel it. You've ripped my personality already haven't you?' I asked Fuel.

'**It's a direct copy of the demons. Which in turn was a direct copy of yours. I guess you could say that**.'

'How much eridium is being redirected into us?'

'**We might be able to bolster a collective power and escape these bindings in no less than a day. Beyond that we'd need even more strength to escape. We've been taken to the moon-base while Jack finds out where the warrior is buried. If we can contact the demon then we could tell them Jack doesn't know.'**

Fuel's plan was solid. Or solid enough. At any rate I'm going to be stuck here for at least another day, so I might as well try and contact Heat.

* * *

"What the fuck is going on!?" Lilith demanded as everyone piled into the war room. Axton and Roland were talking on the balcony about what had happened and Astor was playing around with something on the war map.

"The abridged version senorita; This pretty chick is una siren. Ten's body will charge the vault key faster than sirens. His demon has escaped his body and Jack has captured Ten. We're in deep shit amigos." Salvador said, and for the first time he didn't laugh about his situation. Roland and Axton walked in.

"He's right. We're up to our necks here. Heat, you're still connected to Ten right?" Roland asked as Heat slowly walked to the balcony.

"It's faint. But it's there. I'm unchained by his morality yet feel no desire to hunt. My bloodlust is sated and only when I'm returned will I have my hunger back." Heat said slightly dramatically.

"But isn't that a good thing though?" Gaige asked in pure confusion. She had the same look that most others did.

"No, it's not. His bloodlust will build but it will be a dormant effect. Once he gets back to Ten his bloodlust will come alive, and if it's had a massive build-up then Ten won't be able to fight it off. He will go on a rampage and kill pretty much everything." Gen explained. Gen's intelligence was nearly impossible for his age, but it's fair to assume that through experimentation he's probably found a way to increase his intelligence permanently.

"So basically, whatever needs to be done needs to be done now?" Mordecai asked. Mordecai had been doing his own thing right up until the assault where he gave air support from one of Brick's buzzards. He was distraught these past few days as Jack had captured his best friend, Bloodwing and experimented on her before he finally killed her. That's how the raiders were supposed to get through the death wall. Bloodwing had a software upgrade that would be used on Claptrap so that he could shut down the wall and let everyone pass. Unfortunately Claptrap had a douchebag moment and Ten simply flew over and disabled it from that side himself.

"Exactly. Heat, can you actually make contact?" Gen asked him, with more curiosity than actually needing him to contact Ten.

"He has tried but we are too far apart. I can feel him trying but it's nothing more than ambient sound inside my head." Heat replied calmly.

"Do you know where he is at least?"

Heat thought for a moment before pointing to the sky. Most people instantly knew what he was pointing at but for those few who didn't, Roland filled them in.

"The moon base… Shit. Once he charges the key, he'll go straight to where the warrior is buried, we need every resource we have to take him down.

"Sorry I'm late everyone, I couldn't find a fast travel that hadn't blocked me." Scarlett strode into the room on a refurbished leg. Once she had all that treasure she'd done a few things right. She now had a battleship twice as big as the first Buccaneer, this time it was made of metal. And she got more advanced prosthetic limbs, more like Hammerlock's than actually a peg and hook for arm.

"You missed a lot. We did get that mercenary company that you paid though, so thanks for that they helped a lot." Astor said as she surveyed the room for a place to sit.

"A little crowded in here isn't it? You should use your share of the treasure to rebuild this dingy building. So, did any of the mercs survive?" Scarlett asked with considerable interest in the matter. If they didn't then she wouldn't have to pay them the last half of their contract which would be good for her, but not so much the mercs, they'd be dead.

"None, though I get the feeling you don't care much." Brick said with a laugh. Women like Scarlett were always his type. Tough, full of attitude and combat vets.

"Oh well. Captain Scarlett of the Buccaneer two point OH at your service. We have a contract that I'm honouring. I'll be on my ship but when you need something done send the orders my way and that will be the end of it." Scarlett said in her amazing accent. Salvador had gone glossy eyed.

"Hey puta, keep your eyes off the woman for now, we need you to concentrate." Brick joked. A lot of people laughed as Salvador grumbled something Spanish.

"Angel, are you up to helping us?" Roland asked her cautiously. Angel was something entirely new. A siren? Sure, they'd already got three of the six sirens in the universe, so everyone knew what it was like working with a siren, but Angel was possibly the most powerful now that she was unshackled.

"I am. And before you ask, I cannot fly, I just float when I want to and my siren powers govern anything electrical. So yeah, tech is a big speciality." Angel said in her charmingly innocent voice.

"Could you give a technological power boost?" Zero asked. It still made people jump when he did speak because it was so few and far between.

Angel shrugged and waved her hand, suddenly a dim light was displayed on the inside of Zero's helmet with a message.

"Intriguing." Zero said in what closely resembled shock.

"What did you do?" Maya asked in eyes wide amazement.

"Gave him a power boost." Angel shrugged once more.

"Zero, what is it?" Mordecai asked. He held Zero as a closer friend than most others, a fellow sniper and he barely talked, perfect for Mordecai.

"One thousand percent power boost. My logistics are off the scale. The synapses of the suit are running at two hundred and sixty three percent speed efficiency. Approximately two hundred percent strength increase. Reflexes are at one hundred and seventy nine percent efficiency." Zero said.

"What exactly does that mean?" Roland asked.

"It means he's super-fast, super strong and probably has the reflexes to dodge a bullet." Gaige said.

"Holy hell, we've created a super ninja!" Gen shouted with glee.

"Angel, keep an eye out for any Hyperion movement, the moment they do anything, tell someone and we will mobilize and strike out." Roland said and gave Axton a nod.

"Until then guys, there's really nothing we can do. I'd say chill out, train, do whatever it is that helps you pass the time. And above all else, don't worry about Ten, he's a tough old bastard, he'll handle whatever Hyperion throw at him… And he'll probably bitch them out afterwards." Axton smiled as he thought about exactly how Ten would handle torture. Over the past few weeks where they'd all really come together, Axton and Ten had become pretty good friends.

* * *

"Angel?" Gaige asked as she came back up to the war room where Angel was staying until another room was built.

"Yes Gaige?" Angel replied politely as she sat up in her bed.

"If I can build a simulation pod so that someone can enter a simulation inside their minds, could you build the simulation for it?" Gaige asked curiously.

"Of course, what kind of simulations do you want? You only have to tell me." Angel said as she nodded for Gaige to follow her through to the war room where there were some old computers. Angel had voiced this as a complain because they were so old and she needed some kind of input if she would be able to fully help the Raiders, so Brick, Salvador, Krieg and Fuse were sent to Opportunity to raid a special command centre that had been built underground.

With a wave of her hand the computers turned on, Gaige wasn't even sure they were plugged into anything but it didn't much matter. Angel outstretched her hand and after a few seconds of concentrated energy use, her wings glowed bright then faded as she stopped. The computer was running a standard fight simulation where you had to shoot all of the targets. Like the firing range in Marcus' gun store.

"And you can change that into absolutely anything?" Gaige asked amazed at how advanced Angel's powers were. Angel nodded and suddenly the targets were all Stalkers weaving in and around the lines of sight.

"Good, I'm going to start building the simulation pod straight away. By the time I'm finished your new tech should be here. I'm glad Ten saved you. I like you." Gaige said, suddenly realising that she was having a little girl moment.

"I mean, not like, LIKE you, but I think you're really cool, and I'm digging a hole. Goodbye Angel." She said as she walked off with a dark red face. Angel laughed a little bit before waving her hand once more. Zero popped into view with a dim question mark over his helmet, he was facing the floor. Angel wasn't even sure that he realised he'd become visible.

Instead Angel walked right up to him.

"You can see me?" He asked, the question mark getting brighter.

"I took down your warp fields. I can see you." Angel smiled.

"Someone that cannot be fooled by my reality warp. Hmm." Zero said with annoyance riding his voice. It's a good thing that Angel's been helping them the whole time.

"Zero why do you wear the mask?" Angel asked him. She tilted her head and slowly placed one hand on his mask. Why didn't he stop her? No one had gotten this close to Zero. Something felt right about Angel, he couldn't place it, she just stood out amongst the others. Zero snapped out of it and looked away, moving her hand softly. He hadn't realised at first but he was holding her hand and she didn't take it away, she just held his, hoping for an answer.

"I may as well not wear one near you if you can see through my tech." Zero said before turning invisible and jumping off the balcony to go and do what Zero did best. Hone his skill at killing Hyperion from miles away.

* * *

I don't know how many times I've been crossed off the list. The only problem is; nobody ever checks that you're dead. Jack managed to charge vault key after a few hours, but kept pumping eridium through me so that he could have some fun stabbing me, or at least trying to stab me. He found it difficult because of how durable my body has become. At first he blunt the blade he was carrying with him, so he called in something sharper so that he could have his way with my internal organs.

It still wasn't as painful as what happened to me the other day, but then I doubt anything would be. They say that when your body shuts down from exhaustion that a part of you remains awake, still carrying your reserves of energy. A survivalist, that's what I've become. Survival is the closest thing to me and when I thought I'd been crossed off for the last time, my survival instincts kicked in. I ran, I didn't look back not even for half a second, I ran with the last of my adrenaline kicking through my heart. I ran but that was after I broke the Hyperion officer's neck, the one who unchained me. The fool took off my feet binding first, giving me enough time to associated my own weight before I took flight down the gleaming corridors of this Hyperion base, wherever we are.

I stopped when I went past one of the windows and had to do a double take.

"Oh you have got to be shitting me! I'm on the fucking moon base!?" I shouted out loud in anger.

* * *

Heat was sitting on the only arm chair in the common room with his eyes on the ground and his hood far over his face. Maya and Lilith were sitting either side of the sofa and Brick was in the kitchen attempting to cook something.

Heat let out a brief and slightly muffled laugh. More of an amused chortle than a laugh.

"What?" The sexy sirens both asked at once.

"He just figured out where he is." Heat smiled, one of immaturity and not pure evil.

"What, did someone rub it in his face or something?" Lilith asked, wondering exactly how he would have found that out if he was in chains.

"No, he's escaped captivity and wandered past a window." Heat actually laughed this time.

"Then can he get back here?" Maya asked, suddenly interested in the conversation.

"He can fly, so naturally he could slow his descent but you're overlooking one key factor. He can't breathe in space." Heat said smugly.

"But can you?" Maya asked. Lilith instantly knew what she was thinking and so did Heat as he put a frown on for show.

"Do you even know how fire works? If I go where there is no oxygen my fire will be quelled. Forever." Heat said.

"Is there any way we can get to Ten?" Lilith asked him seriously. Heat thought hard for a moment before coming up with a valid plan.

"Angel might be able to code us in for a fast travel location on the moon base. From there I will go alone and retrieve Ten." Heat said, sounding like he didn't like the plan at all.

"Done." Angel said over the ECHO. As it turned out, Angel was able to hear anything that would seem important to her over any communications channels. One of the perks of being a tech based siren. Angel's powers governed power in their purest form; electricity, and that covered any tech that was powered by electricity.

Heat had a confused look but let Angel's eavesdropping go and instead he stood up without any further words and made his way to the fast travel network.

"Hold up fiery dude, I'm coming with you!" Someone shouted from the top floor of the Raider headquarters but Heat didn't know who said it, so instead he decided to wait and see who would run down those stairs to meet him. It sounded female, so Heat tried to list off the females he knew were in Sanctuary; Lilith, Maya, Moxxi, Gaige, Fuse, Angel, was there anyone else? He didn't think so. Scarlett's accent he would have placed anywhere because of its uniqueness on Pandora.

An enormous girl stepped through the doorway. Heat thought about making fun off her, but frankly he could see she could hold her own. She held a huge assault rifle that looked like it had an endless magazine capacity.

"The names Ellie, I came to Sanctuary for my yearly visit to my momma, but my workshop's boring compared to this vault hunter stuff. I wanna' see some action. So what we waitin' for? Let's go blow some stuff up!" Ellie said in her distinct hillbilly accent as she walked to the fast travel network and waited for Heat to catch up.

"Moxxi?" Heat asked as he put his finger to the mini ECHO unit they had given him so that he could keep in contact with everyone at HQ, who happened to be Roland, Astor, Moxxi and Angel.

"Yes hot head?" Moxxi answered. 'Hot head' was Moxxi's improvised nickname for him.

"Who the fuck is this?" He asked simply and in an inoffensive tone.

"My enthusiastic daughter, make sure she comes back in one piece will you?" Moxxi said with her serious voice.

"I don't think she needs anyone looking after her, she's probably as strong as me." Heat said as he walked through the fast travel and suddenly onto the moon base.

* * *

I'm running through what seems like endless damn corridors when I heard the familiar whoosh of the fast travel network then the next thing I know I feel like I'm being stampeded by a thousand pissed off elephants.

"Ten get down! She'll kill us all!" Heat shouted out from the other side of whatever knocked me down. My vision is blurry from taking such a hard hit.

"WHO!?" I shouted out in dismay as my vision blurred to a complete stop.

"Moxxi's daughter!" Heat shouted as whatever he was clung onto began to rip. He was holding onto this buffalo's shoulders, who's clothes were ripping at how fast we'd begun to travel.

"Moxxi has a- MILF!" I shouted out in my childish ways.

"You already knew she had a son – Scooter!" Heat shouted out from the other side of this gigantic woman.

"Oh yeah." I said in defeat as the woman stopped and I tumbled off her leg and felt my ribs that were beyond broken now.

"Hey, name's Ellie. Odd circumstances to introduce but at least we found you quickly." She smiled.

"Yes, but now we're fucking lost because you stampeded… Down a straight corridor, never mind Ellie, good work and nice to meet you." I said as Heat spared no time in laughing at my situation before they arrived. Cold, naked, covered in sweat and lost.

Ellie pulled me easily over one arm as we walked back through the fast travel and they both took me back inside the Crimson Raider HQ where Maya instantly took me into her arms as soon as she saw me.

"Hey you, I've missed you." I said cheerfully as she held me up.

"You have no idea." She said with tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Heat, it's time." I said as I managed to find the strength to stand on my own feet and face him.

"Too right." He said as he faced up to me and I began the process to pull him back into me. It wasn't an easy transition but when he did, the bloodlust came out and I felt the need to kill. Fortunately Ellie was strong enough to hold me down in my weakened state with the help of the others. Soon the bloodlust was supressed and I managed to regain my own mind for the first time since Jack put that collar on me. By this time Roland had been standing in the room observing and Angel had come down the stairs as well.

"It's Jack." Angel said quickly.

"He's gone to Hero's Pass." I said, finishing her sentence.

"Then we move out now. Ten get to Zed for some of his advanced healing gel. Take a team and meet us at Hero's pass." Roland said as he ran up the stairs three at a time in order to get everyone to mobilise on the double

"I'll take, Kreig, Gaige, Gen, Astor and Angel!" I said and he acknowledged with a simple, 'OK', and I took my team and waited for Zed to apply whatever it was that was supposed to heal me straight away.

* * *

"It's an advanced concoction, only seventy five percent chance it helps, twenty five percent chance it kills you. Or at least, it would kill an ordinary person, you'll be fine just hold still." Zed said as he pressed an injection gun to my neck and pumped a dark red substance into my body. Immediately all of my energy and power had pumped straight into my body and rejuvenated my entire being. Onto Hero's Pass.

* * *

**Please review the story if you liked it, it keeps me going! :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9 **

**A/N: The end of this story is a tie in with SW4G-M4N's 'High School for the Certifiably Insane' I do have permission, so go check it out. NOW! ;)**

"Heroes Pass mother fuckers!" I shouted as I got up a ran for the fast travel network. I'm almost certain that I even lifted off briefly in my excitement. First things first, oh wait never mind, I'm still wearing my harness. Don't want to run into battle without my guns. My squad followed me through the fast travel after a series of heavy sighs from Gaige.

"WOOO HOOO!" I shouted as soon as I reached the other side, brandishing my dual wielded tank busting hand cannons.

I felt something hit my over the head, it was Salvador.

"What the fuck man?" I asked him as I checked for blood. Of course there was none, but the butt of his gun was bent sideways and that amused me enough for me to forgive him.

"We're trying to get as far as possible without detection you puta." He grunted with distaste as he crouched behind a barrel. I stood there awkwardly with my arms crossed waiting for someone to talk to me. After a few more moments of silence and everybody occasionally chatting to see the best method of approach, Roland finally turned to me.

"What's the problem Ten?" He asked me with urgency in his voice, finally, I'd been waiting to say this for a long time.

"Silence? Fuck that, guns blazing baby! WOOO! LOUD AND PROUD PUTAS!" I shouted as loud as I could while shooting my guns and gently floating into the air. Several intruders alarms were rung throughout the entirety of the way to the vault of the warrior.

"You asshole!" Lilith shouted back.

I breathed in heavily.

"Oh god what's he going to do?" Gen asked as he stood away.

"LEEEEEEROOOYYY JEEEEENKIIINSS!" I shouted, breaking into a fit of laughter as I flew past everyone in a blur and began mercilessly killing every enemy I saw in my hyperactive fit.

"Well, given the sufficient data that we all just experience, I say that nobody else take any of that healing gel I gave you unless you want to end up like that." Zed said over the ECHO.

"What if I've mixed it with my regular speed serum?" Gen replied curiously.

"Have you?"

"Yes."

"Have you taken it yet?"

"No."

Radio silence for a moment.

"Take it, I wanna' see what happens." Zed said childishly. Gen thought about it for a moment and clearly did not see the blatant disregard for his own safety.

"Eh, OK." He said as he injected he serum into his leg and everyone watched as this already hyper child reached breakneck speeds. I wonder if his speed is even limited. Maybe if he had my endurance and body durability he'd be able to get even faster. I WANT SOME SERUM!

"Gen, do you have any more of that?" I asked him as I flew slowly, allowing him to catch up as he made the rounds and killed as many people as me.

"Here ya' go!" He shouted as he threw an open syringe at me and it hit my arm. I can feel his super formula take effect on my body. He's created a molecular accelerator. Genius.

I whizzed here and there, soon I got so fast that I physically confused myself.

'_Slow down, I'm going to puke._' Heat said inside my head. Too bad dude, I'm having fun.

'**Pussy**.' Fuel said from somewhere else. If they wouldn't eventually kill me then I'd love these guys, they're basically roommates. Except these jerks don't pay rent.

'No can do, I'm having fun, besides, I don't feel sick at all!' I replied openly inside my head.

'_You asked for it._' Heat responded before I felt something surge through my throat before I stopped flying above a set of Hyperion engineers. It reached my mouth and I had no choice but to open up and belch. I blew molten magma chunks all over the unlucky Hyperion engineers who began screaming in agony as they made their futile attempts to put themselves out, they died shortly after.

"What the hell was that?" I asked out loud.

'_I can breathe fire and apparently puke lava._' Huh, is that so.

"I want to learn." I said instantly as I whizzed off again, this time I landed next to the rest of the raiders who were waiting besides an energy field similar to the one I disabled in place of Claptrap.

"What's up?" I asked light heartedly.

"Death wall amigo." Salvador chuckled as he must have remembered some horrifying way of killing a man with an energy wall.

"Angel, analysis."

"It's a solid state wall. Soft if you walk through it, yet deadly. Hard against impacts." Angel gave the impression that it was impenetrable for the raiders from here on out.

"Zero, can you find a structural weakness and point to it?" I asked him as I took a few paces back from where everyone was gathered at the wall. By the time I'd found a suitable strong rock for what I'd been planning Zero was facing me and had the tip of his sword pointed at a very specific area. I can't see the same way he can so I don't know how large the area of weakness is so I'll just have to be precise.

"I'd get back if I were you." Fuse said to everyone still standing anywhere remotely near the wall. Since Zero had his suit's tech upgraded by Angel he would be able to evacuate the area easily enough.

"Three!" I shouted.

"Two!" Gaige shouted.

"One!" Astor shouted.

"NIPPLES!" And on Krieg's words I released all of my energy I'd bound in my legs against the rock and in an instant I had pushed my strong and durable body against this death wall and shattered it straight away with the sheer force I'd applied.

On the other side, people were clambering through, being careful so as to not touch the fragments that were still capable of disintegrating them.

"That really fucking hurt." I warned as a few of them gave me mischievous smiled before we all continued towards the vault of the warrior.

* * *

"You're completely insane, you are aware of this right?" Jack asked me via ECHO net.

"I'm fun if that's what you mean. I'm not particularly unhinged but between you and me I think the good doctor gave me some faulty drugs." I replied, straight away wondering how he'd take that considering our predicament. He's got a charged vault key, I've got a campaign of pissed off vault hunters with me. Oh and I can fly, puke lava and I have two voices inside my head. Wait isn't that what Jack just said?

"Seriously, you make Krieg seem normal. I mean come on dude, two voices inside your head that manifest into supremely powerful beings? You've got nothing on my warrior." Jack said, suddenly turning serious towards the end.

"Was that… Was that a joke about your genitals?" I asked him cracking up at my joke that dived straight into the bad taste category.

"I'm going to hang up now." Jack said as we all got to the caverns that led down to the warrior.

"Er Ten, I think you might have some serious mental issues. Gen has already calmed down, you've been going haywire for a while now." Gaige said as she struggled to keep up with my strides.

"It's how I cope with the amount of energy flowing through my body right now. I go slightly crazy." I said simply. Most of the other raiders were well aware of what I was saying. The sirens fully understood what with them being beings of immense power. I could see Jack walking up to a spot in the ground where he had the vault key under one arm in a tightly woven burlap sack.

"HONEY, I'M HOME!" I shouted from the top of the elevator which would take us down to the rocky surface only meters away from lava.

"Dude, you're fucking insane." Axton told me not even blinking. He actually believes I'm insane. Maybe I am, I mean, I'm talking to myself now right? Right.

"I know. Jesus Christ it's hot down here." I moaned as we came closer to the lava.

"Haven't you got a demon of rage and fire and shit manifesting inside your soul?" Astor asked me casually. I don't like his wording, they all take it too seriously.

'_Yeah that's actually me just warming up, I assume we still go ahead with the plan_?'

'Yeah, Fuel, you in?'

'**You're the one with the power I don't exactly have a choice here.**'

'I like the way you think, good to know you're on board.' Now that I'd finished conversing with the voices in my head I came back into realisation of the current situation.

"Seriously, if I owned this place and Hell, I'd live in hell and rent this place out." I said, trying to keep my cool, there was an awkward moment of silence as the elevator reached the stone layer.

"Dude, that's from a movie!" Gen accused me. I admit, I did rip that from a Hollywood film.

"Yeah but it's on my list of things I've always wanted to say." I responded joyfully.

"Wait, you have a list?" Angel asked me, she would probably have been quite disturbed by the content on my list.

"Do you not?" I asked her wide eyed.

"I don't. Although I've always wanted to say 'Die pig!' She said imitating whatever movie that was from.

"Hey Mordecai, what's your go-to one liner?" I asked over the ECHO. Him, Brick and Salvador had decided to hi-jack a drop barge and were having trouble navigating it down here.

"Do you feel lucky, punk? Well do ya?" He responded in a perfect imitation of Clint Eastwood.

"Dare I ask, Salvador?" I hesitated as I imagined all the filthy things Salvador might say.

"Wait! Scratch that, before we go down there, does anyone want to admit anything before we go down there, because it might be the last chance we get." I said, feeling evil.

"Sure, you go first." Roland said quickly.

"Not so fast, all of the founders of the Crimson Raiders first, then all of the newcomers." I said, quickly defending myself.

"Fine. I'll go first. Sometimes when I needed to get away from the business and tactics of the raider I'd sneak into Marcus' lockboxes and change all of the lock combinations because his angst amuses me." Roland said with an immensely cheeky grin.

"Holy shit I wish I'd thought of that." Gaige said with a fit of laugher.

"I did wonder what got him so angry every so often." Maya laughed. This was the first time everybody had been together for a laugh since we all got back from the Bloodshot stronghold alive and rented Moxxi's out.

"Lilith, you're up." Astor said with a grin. He's always had a soft spot for Lilith but was way too professional to voice it. Not to mention that she was always constantly borderline on/off with Roland.

"OK, when I first found out I had siren powers I tried to fly for three years straight." Lilith said, looking redder than normal.

"Really? How old were you?" I asked her.

"Seven, so I suppose it's excusable." She said, actually looking relieved that she'd gotten that off her chest. She probably didn't have anything that bad to say right now though.

"Mordecai." Someone else said.

"I'm still in love with Moxxi. It's pretty sad, I know but something about her man I just can't shake it." Mordecai said over the ECHO.

"You better be blushing Mordy." I said with laughter.

"He is." Brick commented.

"Brick?" I said quickly.

"I once broke my hand punching a dirty mirror because I thought some guy was looking at me funny." Brick said with a short chuckle.

"You broke your hand on a mirror?" Axton asked in surprise.

"There WAS a concrete wall behind it." Brick said.

"Astor, what'd your secret?" Roland asked, curious to see what his fellow tactician would admit.

"I used to be an infamous information broker. I had connections in every major planet cluster this side of the galaxy." He said with a cheeky grin. As far as I know that's all of the old vault hunters, now it's time to humiliate the new ones.

"Maya." I said as I looked over to her. Now we weren't that far away from where Jack was with the vault key that had been charged to overdrive with my energy.

"I once tried to cover up my siren tattoos with what I thought was make-up and it wasn't, it was some sort of prank powder that turned fluorescent blue and glowed in the dark, that stayed on for over two weeks." Maya said with a glint in her eye as she remembered her previous life, presumably in the order.

"Salvador?" I asked, just making sure that I got everyone on the other side of the ECHO before I turned to these guys.

"I am the infamous El-Bandito. Train robber extraordinaire, or I was before this vault hunting business." He laughed.

"I can definitely see him as a bandit. Not one of the regular psychopaths but an actual bandit that robs trains and stuff." Fuse said from somewhere behind me.

"How about you Axton?" Roland asked him.

"When I was in the process of building my turret I was no better at building tech than I am now. I built the barrel into the opposite direction and when I went to field test it, I was nearly gunned down by my own bot." Axton said, with a disturbed look as he had a clear image of nearly being killed by his own lifeline.

"Krieg?" Lilith asked softly, more to test the psychopathic mood first.

"We were held captive underground by Jack for years and experimented on. Before that we were a man of the law. We had a daughter. She's here on Pandora. By my tracking process, I've narrowed the search down to one little girl." Krieg said calmly.

"But, who?" Gaige asked in wonder.

"Come on guys, there could only ever be one person. Besides I've figured this out already and I have evidence to support this claim." I said smiling smugly from the side line.

"You know?" Krieg asked me.

"I only found out recently, but yes, I know who she is." I responded, cautiously so as to not provoke a friendly attack.

"Seriously, who is it?" Gaige asked again, it clearly bugging her.

"It's Tiny Tina." I said, amused by their looks of amazement. Krieg simply nodded.

"Gaige?" I asked her, thinking straight away that it would be a really girlish admittance.

"When I first got here, I kept slipping Zero love letters." She said, hiding her face.

"How cute. Your admiration is appreciated." Zero said in an attempt to make it less awkward.

"Zero, how about you? Do you have any sordid little secrets?" Gaige asked him playfully.

"I have a face." Zero said, a holographic smirk appeared over his helmet.

"Dude, I thought he was a robot?" Gen laughed.

"How about you Mr. Green?" Fuse asked from behind him.

"I once asked Salvador to test out a prototype formula and actually turned him into a gecko. I then bribed him with two bottles of imported tequila for him to not tell anyone while I worked on a way to turn him back to normal." Gen said sheepishly.

"It was good tequila amigo, well worth it." Salvador cut in on the ECHO.

"Bloody hell, we've all got some dark backgrounds going on here." I laughed before motioning towards Angel.

"I don't really have anything to admit…" Angel acted innocent but we all stared at her unbelievingly, and she cracked.

"All right, I downloaded four thousand Gigabytes of online porn once." Angel said with bright red cheeks. Silence filled the group and we stopped walking.

"Holy shit Angel… Four THOUSAND gigs? Was that all for personal use?" I asked her.

"What!? NO!? It was a data trafficking scam Jack had me do, but it still felt awful handing that much data of filth." She said, keeping her head to the ground.

"Well, by my count that still makes her innocent, right?" I said as I cracked a sly smile.

"Pretty much yeah." Everyone agreed.

"Fuse, I can tell you've got some really dark things you want to get off your chest." I said with a cheeky grin.

"Being a siren from a young age in a bandit village I always had an advantage over everyone else, the savagery of bandits but with the powers of a siren. I made my own gladiators arena where I'd give a thousand bucks for anyone that could cut me, and anyone who could kill me would get everything I owned. No one ever touched me." She said sadistically, but still with a shred of humanity flowing through her at the same time, how she managed that I have no idea.

"Well then if that's all. Jack won't wait any longer for us." I said as I turned around and began moving down the path again.

"Hold up killer, you haven't told us your dirty secret." Lilith said with a smile.

"You really all want to know?" I asked them in a tone which would lead them to believe they would get the details on my dark past.

"Yes." It was unanimous. I sighed heavily to add effect.

"OK, well here goes…. The other day I had a foursome with Maya, Lilith and Fuse. Best sex of my entire life, here's the part I have to admit thought. There's nothing I actually wanted to admit, I just wanted to rub that in all of your faces. Right, let's go and stop and ancient Eridian warrior of legendary power." I smiled and left as everyone sort of stood there in silence. The sirens apart from Angel had all gone red in the face and quickly moved onwards, following my striding pattern towards Jack. This is it; this is where it will end once and for all.

* * *

"You." Jack said as he pointed at me like I'd just committed the greatest war crime in history.

"Yeah?" I asked him for no reason.

"You're the one who took my darling Angel away from me and corrupted her into believing your vile ways are right." Jack kept walked towards me. At this point the raiders had him surrounded but the key was in the portal for the vault. I'm not sure why something hadn't happened yet.

"I did fuck all! To both of those accusations. Now why the hell hasn't the key done anything yet?" I asked him enraged by anticipation.

"Because I haven't commanded anything yet. I'm about to take revenge for you taking my baby away." He said before he turned invisible.

"She's right there jackass-" He punched me right into the stomach. Oh man, how do you fight against something that's invisible. You pit your invisible things against it.

"Zero, take his cloaking device out." I shouted as I took a beating from all sides.

"Heat? Maybe now you should bring out the real heat." I said out loud so that people knew to step away. I could feel the barrage of fire building in my throat, ready to be projected like a flamethrower. I saw a flash of the blade which must have been one of Zero's kunai because Jack de-cloaked and I stood and unleashed the build-up of pure rage that had subsided within my throat. It burnt half of his entire body to a smouldering bunch of burnt out nerves and now useless limbs. I'm surprised it didn't flat out incinerate half his body. Angel was crying behind me and someone else was comforting her. I didn't think she'd want any part of this anyway.

"This is not how my life ends! Warrior, emerge and give me all of your power!" Jack shouted out.

"I did not see that coming." I muttered as a giant stone dragon emerged from the lava and many purple vapours poured out of it and into Jack, reforming is body, plus a set of glistening purple dragon's wings that were perfectly proportionate to his body. Once the transfer was complete the warrior had no life essence left, the rocks just fell into the lava, the final resting place of the warrior.

"What do you say now Ten? Do you think you and your buddies can beat me now? Not even your pet demon can beat me now." Jack said, his voice emanated power in its purest form.

"Oh for fucks sake. Well at least I'll have an audience for the first time I manages this." I said to myself.

"Ten? Buddy, what are you doing? Axton asked me in his 'scared shitless' tone.

"Oh you're all going to love this part. Jack not so much." I said smugly as Jack began to build his power up out of seemingly nothing.

"Embodiment of Rage, Pain and Anguish! I summon you to battle my enemies as I would!" Once I finished shouting that sentence, Heat flew out of my body at unparalleled speed.

"You want me to fight him in a sloppy manner?" Heat asked me.

"Shut up and get ready! I remarked, he could tell that this was no time to joke.

"Embodiment of my own perfectionism and power, I summon you to battle my enemies as I would!" This time Fuel was the one who emerge from my very being.

"What's with the flashy intro?" He asked me in that strange two tone voice that had once faded.

"I was buying time. Get yourself ready. All of you, lay down covering fire! He may be powerful but he's not bulletproof!" I shouted back to them. They didn't need a second warning they all opened fire on Jack's body which caused him to dash into the cover of the nearby rocks.

"And now for my party trick!" I shouted before I started screaming in the agony of yet another transformation taking place within my body; it wasn't a physical transformation as such but one where I reached a new level of strength, speed and reflexes and actually locked it in. I gained much of the physical attributes of Fuel except for the white hot glowing veins underneath my skin.

I'm nearly there, my power is high enough for it to happen, just a little longer, there we go, it's done. A shockwave emanated off my body and was sent outwards in a powerful show of my achieved power.

"What the hell is that?" Gen asked as he had to hold onto a rock to avoid being flung backwards into the lava.

"A super form I've been working on, I'll explain later. Raiders, let's take Jack down once and for all!" I shout as I attacked from behind the rock smashing straight through it. Heat flew into the lava in order to get the drop on Jack when we pulled him our way and Fuel attacked from the side. Even with all the power Jack had gained from the warrior it wasn't proving to be a huge help right now, he hadn't been able to ever use any of his abilities beforehand so they were pretty chancy now.

It's working, Jack can't keep up even with his intense speed and defence, I landed a punch that snapped something in his jaw. He's flying, why is this becoming such a common thing now.

"Can't get a shot, clear the line of fire!" Axton shouted, but I'd snapped another mental barrier in my mind and punched from the side as hard as I could from the right hand side, Jack saw this and punched me in the ribs the same time my hand shattered his fore arm from the brute force I'd applied. He was sent flying towards where Heat was lying in wait to take over my position. I'd been punched so hard I crashed into the solid rock wall a few hundred meters away. Fortunately Heat stepped in with the element of surprise, both he and Fuel were kicking Jack's ass for the time being and everyone was still managing to get shots in.

"RECALLED!" I shouted as I covered the distance between the rock wall and the fighting in an instant. Suddenly both Heat and Fuel stopped fighting and they both got anchored back into my body.

Jack was floating above me but he looked heavily taxed from fighting all three of us plus everyone with guns. I was feeling as pumped as ever. I jumped and grabbed his foot as I slapped him into the ground in front of everyone and grabbed his collar and pounded his face, punch after punch before I finally controlled myself.

"Now apologize to Angel for her lifelong imprisonment!" I shouted in rage as Angel came forwards to hear in from her father.

"Everything I did, I did for you!" He sputtered blood.

"No more bullshit Jack, you either die a liar or you die at peace!" I shouted after clocking him another few punches.

"Angel, baby, I'm sorry." He said in what must have been the only fatherly thing she'd ever heard.

"Good enough." I said as I closed my hand around his neck and took flight high into the air.

"You're going to die here Jack. Maybe I will too. But there's going to be a special place in hell for people like you. Save me a spot at the bar." I said as I threw him towards the planet and spiked him mid-air, taking him all the way to the surface where I detonated my bodies vital energy. My power had been combined with the power of both Heat and Fuel so naturally we survived but only just. We were all exhausted. But it was finally over. Handsome Jack was dead. Nothing remained from him except his now blood stained mask. I picked it up for old time's sake. I was a fair way away from where the fighting had been moments before and I could no longer fly.

Lilith quickly teleported to my side. "Is it over?" She asked me sincerely. She put an arm on my shoulder and looked me dead in the eyes. She was looking glum even given the fact of what had just happened. I take it she and Roland must have spoken about what I had said.

"Yeah. It's over, are you OK?" I asked as I sat down on a rock nearby, she did the same.

"Yeah. I'm fine, it's just what you said, and me and Roland, and everything is just messed up right now." She admitted. I just noticed that she was still staring at me, eyes focused. It was unnerving.

"Lilith? Something wrong?" I asked. Her ECHO was off. Mine was destroyed a while ago. Whatever was said here, not even Angel would be able to hear. And we were on the bottom half of the cliff face. Come to think of it, looking up the distance was far greater than I imagined and nobody could see us.

"Ten I… I think I'm falling for you." She admitted, hanging her head in shame. Oh hell, I don't need this right now. At all.

"Look, you really have to sort this out with Maya. No more tricking me into bed and conspiring against me for my body. I want none of this. Pandora is a deadly place. It wasn't exactly my decision to be roped into a situation where I actually cared for those around me. I have Maya. You don't want me to be another person to be emotionally attached to. Trust me. Now let's see about getting back up to the others." I said as I tried to stand but most of my bones were broken. I could probably still fly with broken bones though.

When we phased back up to the cliff my head was drawn towards the vault key instantly. "We need to destroy that." I said as I could sense the same energy ebbing from it that I could feel from Jack. It was my energy. Everything that my body had to replace, I wonder if there's some way to release it back into me.

"Let me, this thing is tipped to the brim with that I'm going to assume is-?" Lilith said as she used her power to bring the key to a moderate height.

"Pretty much my life force." I finished for her.

"Woah, hold up!" I said before she destroyed it.

"What is it soldier?" Roland asked me as he addressed a wound that Zero had achieved. Somewhere during the battle, Mordecai Brick and Salvador had joined in.

"Something not quite right." I said as I touched the vault key the purple vapours expanded and circled through everyone there, suddenly something exploded into the air, it was a memory, a memory that we all simultaneously remembered. The high school. The high school for the certifiably insane. Most of us were there. I think everyone except Astor and Gen. I remember all this stuff that happened. Zero and Angel were a thing before. Oh shit, Maya and Axton? Lilith and Roland, well that's a given. A few other things are coming back to me. This is all too much for even me at the moment, everyone is going to be feeling down.

"That was some heavy stuff, we need to talk this through." Lilith said. Nobody felt like talking right now and I for one felt the need to kill something. I let my feet take me off the ground and gently flew over to the fast travel network faster than anyone could talk me down. Hopefully they wouldn't follow me, I think by now they'd know when they need to give me some time. I'm going to go into hiding, find solitude in my little cave right now, probably jack a few kegs of rakk ale as well, alcohol always helps to drown out my sorrows.

* * *

It's been a few months since I faced off against Handsome Jack and the vault key restoring everyone's memory of our time before. I'd lived in a cave at first, afraid to face anyone. They all tried to approach me but I'm superior in escaping unwanted confrontations. No one would ever be able to talk me down from myself inflicted solitude. And now two months on Hyperion was finally shattered from the inside out. Without Handsome Jack there was nothing to stop Angel from disbanding them completely. After she emptied their current holdings and stocks. We're all rich to an awesome degree. Well on Pandora anyway.

Now I'm living in the raider controlled city of opportunity. I say raider controlled, there's just me in here. I regularly patrol the skies and take down any Hyperion attempts to retake their golden city, except that it's all been quiet recently. Along with my memories of the high school, a max security prison for the certifiably insane, I've also been given clarity for all the time in-between then. My time with the Messengers. I was their greatest killing machine.

I get memories of the old days where the DMs would be contracted, and straight away Rose would send me and Jace to do it. We were the best of the best me and Jace. We were also best friends. I understand now why he'd hesitated when he had me in his grip. He didn't want to kill me and knew that if I'd been given time to recover that Rose would call the order off.

This isn't healthy, I haven't seen anyone for months and my hair is starting to dread itself. Despite the fact that I now own a supreme power shower. I'm actually becoming fond of the dreadlock look. I haven't shaven in weeks and look a mess, I've been too busy with taking over this city and outfitting it with my own defences, Gaige's turrets, a slightly older model than the ones she's using on Sanctuary but they're still going to get the job done. I'm in the kitchen frying some skag hide, it's really good when you get the juicy rump of it. I'm sitting down at the island that I converted into a table. This is where I keep my computer. I don't have a computer for anything except for the fact that I can monitor all of my defences and systems. It would be too much to control otherwise.

There was a faint rustling against the latch of my apartment, intruders? It must be, anyone else would have had contact first. Someone has opened the door but I've already disappeared into the shadows. It's not dark outside but I've remotely shut off the windows from view. Giving me the advantage, whoever it is hasn't seen the layout before.

The sound of the footstep isn't too heavy, possibly teenage boy, adult female, somewhere between that. It could be the boy; Gen.

"Er, maintenance." Someone said, it was a woman's voice. As if maintenance would unlock my door like that. Plus something sounds familiar about this woman's voice. I sniffed heavily into the air.

"Bullshit." I replied before moving silently to another position so that this woman couldn't track my progress.

"Ten, baby, how did you know?" The roman replied before she dissolved into seemingly nothing.

"Beta! What the hell do you want? Are you here alone?" I asked her as I continually moved around the apartment. She was turning herself into a pool of rising water. That sneaky bitch, she'd already fried the circuits of the remote, there was physically no way out of here, she was going to drown me.

"I'm all that's needed hun." Beta responded with a sickening laugh.

"Oh for shits sake, that's a really good bit of skag hide!" I protested as the water had risen high enough for her to douse the fire on my electric cooker that had been nicely searing my dinner.

"Too bad, it was a nice starter, but now it's time for the main course!" The water level caught up to it and as soon as it engulfed me I awoke in my bed drenched in sweat to the sound of someone knocking heavily against my door.

"It's no use, he won't answer to us." A muffled female voice responded. I instinctively grabbed my shaving razor which didn't resemble anything that should ever be pressed against someone's neck. It's still sharper than ever because of how little I've shaven recently.

"Then we knock it down." Someone else laughed. From the positioning behind the door this voice came from higher up, a much taller man with a deep voice. I sat down on a kitchen chair that I'd placed right next to the front door. I only just realised that I'm still naked but that doesn't matter right now.

A moment later my nice whitewashed door had broken free of its hinges and was launched into my living room. It bashed the top of my second floor on its way through. The way I designed my apartment was that on the right hand side of the entrance was a large walk in cupboard for anything I didn't need. Naturally I stored my rarest loot in there, it was my small trophy room. On the left was a small bar, stocked with alcohol. Further into the apartment was my living room which took up the whole right hand side, on the left was the kitchen with the open railing stairs starting between the kitchen and the bar, leading up to the bedroom which was built above the trophy room.

A big man walked through the door and never even noticed me until I moved my blade to his throat, stopping him dead in his tracks.

"Ugh, Lil? I found him." Brick said as he raised his hands in surrender.

"Two months." I said. My voice was noticeably deeper since the last time I'd heard myself speak. They looked shocked at how different I am now than that of what I had been when we faced Handsome Jack. I'd become even more defined. My muscles were still large but not to an unrealistic extent like Brick's. My skin much tighter around my body. I was kept in good condition but the thing that they barely recognised was my face. Heavily bearded with dreadlocked hair. It must have been strange for them.

"Well bring him back then." Lilith said coldly, something must have happened. She didn't want me back as much as I didn't want to go back.

"Ugh yeah, no he's got a razor to Brick's throat right now." Someone said, back in the hallway this female carried on the conversation with Lilith. It's Fuse, I recognize her now. She's still as beautiful as ever with her shaven sides and long pony tail leading down her back.

"Two months and nobody, not even Angel was able to track me. How did you find me?" I asked him, as I kept my blade to his throat. I trust no one after that nightmare about Beta.

"You were difficult to find, no doubt. And it wasn't Angel that found you anyway. It was Gen. He found you by accident. He was being trained in advanced sniping by Zero at the time and he accidentally adjusted his scope too much I'm told." Brick continued as he slowly lowed his arms to his side.

"He found me through a sniper scope?"

"Yeah. They found you wrestling with a thresher worm apparently. They didn't know it was you at first, but who else would be able to do that?" Brick said as Fuse entered the room. Obviously she was the first to notice that I was naked.

"On second thought, it's definitely Ten. He's standing in front of my butt naked." She said in awe before composing herself. I reluctantly let myself take the blade away from Brick's throat and shut the door behind them.

"So what exactly do you want? Clearly I've no intention of going back to Sanctuary." I said as I led them to my kitchen. Grabbing a bottle of whiskey on the way.

"But it's urgent. Roland received a message a couple of weeks away. It's from the Order. Maya said that you would understand." Fuse said. I looked up sharply. The Order. They were who raised me as a child before I fled captivity and ended up being criminally charged as insane. I never got the details from Maya about how she did the same thing but she was with me in the early stages of our lives before everything went to hell.

"Did she tell you anything else?" I asked her, my eyes trained on her. Fuse hesitated slightly but spoke up soon after.

"She told us that you were with them briefly, that the order were more interested in you than in the myths of sirens." Fuse said at last. Brick had decided to check my apartment out.

"If Roland got the call then they're planning on invading and taking you sirens." I said calmly. Of course the biggest legend that the Order held closest to their hearts was the Reckoning. A mythical joining of power between seven sources. Six sirens and something more. For the first twelve years of my life the order had believed me to be that seventh source of power. Either way they're after our sirens. They had three sirens when I left. Maya who I'm told killed one of the elders before fleeing as well. Then the other two sirens had decided to stay loyal. Mist who had naturally purple hair, or at least if it wasn't natural she'd never ever been late on a hair dying day.

"Ten we need you. Maya needs you." Fuse said. I can't believe she just played that card. She was at the high school as well, how can she pull that on me.

"Not my fight." I responded.

"She was torn apart after you disappeared. We thought you may go and do your own thing for a couple of days like you always had but not completely disappear for two months."

"Evidentially she gave up in the end." I toyed with the sharp razor, running it across my fingers, it barely scoring the skin due to my durability to damage.

"It was a flurry of emotion for all of us, but you remember what happened in the high school. Her and Axton were a match made in heaven. But…" Fuse looked away.

"What's your opinion on all of it then?" I asked, curiously.

"I think that you were more an object of desire. You ARE very alluring at worst, but the biggest thing is your primal nature, it's dangerous, especially to us, sirens I mean."

"And why is that?" I asked, indulging her.

"Power attracts power. Please Ten, at the least come back to Sanctuary so that we know your alive." Fuse pleaded. I stood there in silence as I contemplated going back there and facing everyone. I have become very powerful as of recent. I've honed my senses to their sharpest, I've accepted my animalistic nature and I've been aligned with my instinct acting on it alone.

"I go to Sanctuary. For one hour." I said as I watched her face light up. "One." I put a finger up, just to exaggerate the fact that I wouldn't stay any longer than that.

* * *

Fuse and Brick reappeared from the fast travel network. Maya was sitting down on a bench reading what looked like a girly book and Axton was chatting her up. He'd probably assumed that I'd never come back from solitude and I can't blame him. If they hadn't found me then I'd never have come back.

"Any luck?" Axton asked as Fuse and Brick walked out of the building that housed the fast travel station.

"It's him." Fuse said, hot in the cheeks.

"What?" Axton asked in disbelief.

"He's coming now." Brick said pointing towards the sky. Axton looked up towards the clouds but couldn't see anything. Maya had stood up like a bullet and instantly tried to find me. I was flying higher than the clouds today. I didn't really want to come back to Sanctuary just for Maya to be standing in the same courtyard that I would land in.

I broke the cloud line with fire surrounding me, dignifying the ridiculous speed I was traveling. The hardest physical part about getting to Sanctuary was finding some clothes that wouldn't burn up upon coming down through the lowest layer of the atmosphere.

"I don't fucking believe it." Axton said as he slowly reached to his ear. I assume they've changed the ECHO devices into a more easily reached unit for selective hearing type function.

"He's here." Axton said into his device. A faint mumble on the return side of it.

"Ten, he's actually here."

I landed hard and skidded to a stop on my feet. I had some goggles similar to Mordecai's except very thin and completely blacked out. They only just covered my eyes. I used them when I had to hunt through areas with massive sunlight. I moved in the shadows but that didn't always mean that my prey did. I used to hunt Rakk and doing so without goggles like these would never yield results. The suns would just penetrate your vision and send you careening into an icecap or canyon.

I stood on the spot and turned, taking in the new sights of Sanctuary. They'd been very busy since I'd left. I listened to the hum of the engines. They'd had an upgrade, somehow they've had two more engines built into the bottom of this floating city and have installed a special anti-gravity force field. So that when the engines aren't being used to relocate Sanctuary they can be turned off completely. There was more of Sanctuary this time, there was actually a courtyard in front of Scooter's garage now and Gaige's workshop had a second tier built. Most of the derelict buildings had been transformed into something more useful. There was a secondary bar, what's that about, Moxxi's isn't enough for these people? Strange.

My focus had settled on Maya and Axton, Maya looked at me like I wasn't real and Axton just looked pissed off that I'd cock blocked him. Either way I grunted and walked towards the raider headquarters.

As soon as I reached the doorway I got odd looks from everyone inside the common room. A few people were sitting on the couch watching what looked to be a brand new tv. Mordecai had been sitting with Moxxi in his arms.

"No way." He said in amazement as he analysed me from head to toe.

I continued up the stairs towards where I remembered the war room being. Of course, it along with pretty much this entire city had been refurbished. Instead of just the war console which had been done up, this room was now a functional command centre with another room that was directly used for meeting, much like the one I was about to be pulled into with Roland.

"Well, I've got to say that I didn't know what to expect when they told me they'd found you." Roland said as he turned to face me. Lilith was still looking away from me on the balcony and at this point most of the raiders were in the hallways packing up to see what all the commotion was about.

"What the hell are you playing at!" Maya raged as she pushed past everyone on the stairs.

"Only relevant people should be in this meeting." I said in my deep voice. I have to admit I sound sexy.

"Agreed, please come through to our meeting room." Roland said as he opened the door in front of me. He was always a natural leader when we were younger and he still is. I took up the seat at the far end of the table. And prepped my mind to endure this meeting. Everyone who wasn't absolutely necessary was forced to wait outside. Roland had a seat at the table as the head of the raiders, Angel as the intel operator and Gaige as she represented the head of Sanctuaries defence team. She was actually the only one of the defence team but that didn't matter, she was the one in charge of making sure the Order couldn't simply walk in and take the sirens by force.

"Firstly, Ten it's good to see you." Roland said as he organised a stack of papers, those sure as hell better not be for this meeting. I removed my over coat, I had a leather sleeveless top on underneath. I'm in that part of Pandora that doesn't need any more layers than one. Outside the meeting room doors Gen peeked through one of the windows along the bottom of the door. More of the raiders had piled up to see what was going on but Gen cracked a smiled and thumbs up to see what I would do. Maybe he's testing me. I had my hands meeting each other at the centre of the table, showing off my impressive shoulders. I simply moved one of my hands away when Roland wasn't looking and flipped him the bird before returning my hands to their previous position.

I heard fits of laughter at the doors followed by Gen shouting. "That's definitely Ten!"

"Cut the bullshit Roland, what do you want from me?" I asked him as I turned my head. I think the fact that I'm wearing goggles unnerved him because of the fact that he couldn't read my expression.

"I want your help. We couldn't have taken down Hyperion without you and we won't survive this time without you." Roland said in a bland tone. "I need you to help us again in rallying forces, like you did with Scarlett. She's around here somewhere. We've had preliminary contact with the Torgue corporation and they've agreed to back us completely if we have a team that wins the Torgue Campaign of Carnage." Roland said slightly worried. Torgue the words panned across my lips. Mr. Torgue, the head of the Torgue corporation is Jace's uncle. This should be interesting.

"What if I told you that I don't much care about what happens to Sanctuary?" I asked him as I leant forwards on the briefing table.

"I'd say that you're lying and that you really want this." Roland said as he himself leant forwards, mocking my movement. I frowned.

"I get to pick the team." I said.

"Done. You should speak to a few of the people around here while you can. They've been worried about you all this time."

"Not Lilith apparently." I said.

"We don't know why she's so angry whenever you're mentioned." Angel said casually.

"If that's all, I need to go and see an old friend." I said as I got up and left the table. I can't remember what exactly happened to my guns, the Howitzer and the Jackal, but I assume they went to a caring owner. I carry two daggers now, I utilize my speed to my utmost advantage, bullets aren't good enough when your enemy is too tough for projectile impacts to matter.

Like I said, it's time to go and visit an old friend; Jace. The Messengers haven't come for me yet, I don't know why but I think they're rounding up as many forces as they can. It's probably going to be a little while longer anyway. If I can convince Jace to help me out this one time then maybe I can convince him to turn to my side of the fighting, from what I remember he never liked Rose and he liked the twins even less.

I need a team first though, don't I? I'm going to avoid Maya for as long as possible thought, it's time to get back into the action. I want some better weapons first, no firearms, it's time to hone my skills at something else.

"Gaige?" I asked before I disappeared through the door completely.

"Meet me in my workshop." She nodded as if she knew what I would say.

* * *

"You got some real stones to come back after disappearing for two whole months." Gaige said as she opened the door to her workshop, allowing me to go in after her. I merely grunted as I handed Gaige my razors.

"They need a touch up." I said slowly as she took my blades carefully so as not to cut herself in the process.

"Jesus what were you sharpening them on?" She asked me.

"My face." I replied, she instantly realised that they were shaving razors.

"Dude, you're a badass. Anyway, a lot's changed since you've been gone. We were all at that high school. I was a bit young granted but I was there."

"How old are you?"

"It was my nineteenth birthday last month."

"Suddenly I don't feel so bad about having thoughts about sweet little Gaige." I teased her with my deep voice. Nineteen years old, there's no way she'd be able to resist someone like me. I don't have any desire for her to be honest, I just have fun teasing people.

"Oh really? This sweet little Gaige?" She asked me as she unbuttoned the first few buttons of her top, revealing a bra that had an anarchy symbol imprinted on it.

"Enough. The blades." I said, reminding her of the true nature of my visit. I had no idea she was nineteen, it didn't make sense, well it did the more I thought about it.

"How old is Gen?" I asked her.

"Eighteen soon." She assured me. Well that means that he's still got time to grow. Gaige isn't as small as I thought she was, she's actually at least as tall as the other women here. Time for me to get out of here. I should go and see the other people, and think about who I'm going to bring with me to the Torgue tournament.

* * *

I walked into Moxxi's bar like I owned the place. Moxxi saw me and gave me an incredibly disproving look as I walked in.

"Two months." She said in disbelief, she actually sounded wounded.

"Two months." I nodded as I stood there, taller than most and much more muscular.

"You've come back to us a different man." She said as she briefly touched a strand of my dreadlocked hair.

"Can I get a drink?" I asked her. I'd developed a great habit of keeping my sentences slow and short, but yet powerful and empowering.

"That depends on how long you plan on staying." Moxxi said sourly.

"I'll get the support of Jacobs and Torgue. Then I'll disappear again." I said. I see no point in hiding the truth. It's too painful to be around these people any more.

Moxxi analysed me greater this time as if seeing if I was bluffing.

"Roland said there's one more thing you have to agree on. Here, take this." She said as she handed me an earpiece similar to that of what I saw Axton wearing.

"So you can keep track of me?"

"A new ECHO device." Moxxi said. It was already set up and I didn't feel like having a hassle on me the first day back.

"Kid, get to Moxxi's now." I said as I patched myself through to Gen's frequency, then switched to the open channel that the raiders all use.

"Before Jack and the warrior you took something of mine." I said. The goggles hid my eyes full of fear that something had happened to my most highly valued material item.

"I kept it. It and the guns were all we had. We thought that you were gone for good after a month had passed." Moxxi said before she pulled a key out of her bra. "You can have it back if you can find it." She said before walking off to go and pour my drink.

A few moments later Gen appeared in the doorway with some folders. I walked over to an empty booth with two pints of freshly draught beer. Moxxi was lenient towards Gen when it came to drinking. The age on Pandora was never really set in stone, but people believed it was eighteen more or less. When it came down to it, the only real establishments on Pandora were Moxxi's and the Irish one near Overlook that got blown up. I hear Overlook are hoping to follow Sanctuary's lead and turn to the skies. Maybe I can help with that.

"Thanks." Gen said as he sat down and began taking down the cold beer, he raised his glass and winked at Moxxi from over the booth.

"You're with me from now on." I said simply.

"Cool, but first you gotta take a look at these." He passed me a thick set of folders each with specific points about the assignments we've undertaken as a whole. I pulled at the subject summaries from each folder along with a pen. I could make adjustments if so needed.

The foremost file simply had 'See Tannis' written on it.

"I hear your getting down with Gaige these days." I said, seeing if I could get any sort of amusement out of it.

"Who told you that?" He asked me curiously.

"Nobody, I'm just wondering."

"I er-" I think I can make things far more interesting.

"Gaige, I hear you're bumping dirties with Gen." I said over the raiders open channel so that everyone could hear me.

"Whoever said that can go die!" She shouted over the ECHO, I'd heard that they'd been given a lot of stick for beating around the bush for too long. They both clearly liked each other.

"I think it's that time of the month." I said showing no emotion on my face nor making it heard in my voice.

"I!-" Gaige began but I switched my ECHO device off.

I watched as Gen's eyes widened and his jaw dropped at the Mechromancer's stream of expletives. The Splicer silently reached over and took the file from my side of the table. He pulled a pen out of his pocket and started taking notes on the tirade going on over the ECHO.

"Hold on. Gaige? Could you repeat that last one? I didn't quite catch it." He said, only half-joking. He suddenly went pale. "SHI-"

His hand darted towards his ECHO, but for once his legendary speed failed him. The green-skinned teen jerked backwards hard enough to topple his chair, and he lay on the ground clutching at ears that now bled slightly from the sheer volume of Gaige's yell.

"Yes, I heard that time." he said weakly, before reaching down to switch off his ECHO. He slowly pulled himself upright while I watched in amusement. He glared at me for a moment, "Fuck off Ten." He said as he wiped his ear to get the blood out of it.

"Is it time to get a team together yet?" Gen asked me seriously.

"Get whoever you see fit and meet me out in these co-ordinates." I said as I handed him the data for Torgue's tournament. Now it's time to see if Jace will go on one last rodeo.

* * *

**Please review the story if you liked it, it keeps me going! :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

If you asked me why I decided to go and see Jace, I really couldn't tell you. I suppose that in the end I would have put it down to the fact that touching the vault key made everything crystal clear to me. I know why Rose hates me. Back on Rakkeria, those files that Jace gave me when we were in Sanctuary, when I disobeyed direct orders, I also protected the villages and got into a fight with Rose. A mid-air fight with two superhuman forces. Yeah, she can fly as well.

"For fuck sake, I thought it was something I could do." I cursed my bad luck.

"Fuel, blah blah blah, I summon you." I said half-heartedly as I pulled the hybrid out of my body and into reality.

"Why have you summoned me?" He asked curiously as he surveyed the surroundings. We were now walking towards Jace's shack which his uncle had given him while Torgue was setting up the arena which by now should have been completely built.

"I'm bored. Do you have any special powers? Heat can do things that you would assume someone with that name could." I explained as I motioned the fire breathing.

"I can crush particles." He said casually.

"Really, show me." I said as I stopped. There was a bandit patrol that had seen us and started to fire it's machine gun at us.

"Here's your example." Fuel outstretched his hand and grabbed the air as if locating his target one hundred meters away. He then swivelled his arm and brought it upwards. Instantly the car's chasis crumpled in onto itself creating a bandit/runner trash cube, complete with blood and organs. It slid on the carcass of the driver for another couple of meters before it came to a stop in front of us.

"Teach me." I said in awe.

He nodded and I pulled him back inside my body. I'd learnt how to command parts of my body to utilize Heat's powers why would this be any different?

'**Firstly you have to feel your own power and direct it to your arms. Try with a small rock first, and it's probably best if you use both arms.**' He said.

'OK, now what?'

'Push your energy outwards and find the hooks that tether the particles of the rock together.' This is getting into some confusing stuff.

'Right?' I felt around the rock for a moment or two thinking about what I looked like on the outside. I found it, I found the combination between my internal energy and that of the rock.

'Good, now push it in on itself.' As per his command I crushed the rock into dust with my new found telekinetic powers.

"Fucking sweet." I said in awe as I gracefully propelled my body into the sky so that I could reach Jace faster. I don't know whether or not he'll join me for this last time but it's definitely going to be worth it. At the very least I've learnt that there's a way to counter that Death's Messenger that has immense telekinetic power, Gamma.

* * *

"Knock knock bitch, open up!" I shouted as I rapped my knuckles across the solid looking door. He actually had a small metal apartment in Torgue village. I would have had to have killed loads of people just to even get this far if I couldn't fly.

I heard a faint rustle as the door before the sliding latch opened up as I could see a pair of eyes from within the darkness.

"Huh, I like the new look, it's very animalistic." He said as he commented on my different clothes and overall appearance.

"I decided to embrace it. Solitude was nice while it lasted. Jack's dead and the vault key restored my absent memories." I said in my dark voice.

"You remember everything then I take it?" His tone was astounding, the last time I'd seen him he was wearing a suit and the time before that he was a furry wolf trying to kill me. What's up with this guy?

"I remember and I extend an offer. I take it that the Messengers aren't ready to try and take me, and that gives me time. There's a new threat, after doing some background research I realised that you're THE person I should get in on this." I said convincingly.

"Well in that case, you'd better come in. One second. Shit the doors stuck again, mind giving it a bit of push from your side, I'm a little weak from last night." He said with a cheeky grin, flashing those hunting teeth. He was more of an animal than me, literally.

"My pleasure, stand back." I said as I focused my energy, it's time to train my empathic power. I found the invisible particle tethers that were holding the door faster than I had the rocks and pushed my hands inwards. I saw the door crumpling into its own sides as it fell to the ground a moment later.

'**Your ability to learn and master power is astonishing**.' Fuel said.

'Thanks, I like this one more than the rest though, this is fucking hardcore.' I replied.

"Not quite what I had in mind but I suppose it'll do." Jace remarked as sunlight filled the room. There were two women lying naked in his bed, typical.

"Just like old times." I smirked. Even though Jace was on strict order to kill me as soon as the Messengers arrived I still couldn't help but feel like he was my closest friend right now.

"So what's this thing you need me for? Beer?" He asked as he held an unopened bottle out to me.

I took it and examined the brand.'Buddweiser – King of Beers'.

"Where the hell did you get this? I didn't think they imported this to Pandora?" I asked him in surprise.

"Yeah, I don't know, I stole it." He replied. Fair enough. I held the bottle away from my body and focused the same energy I had been doing so far. It was a lot easier for me now and I barely needed to even use my arms I could just do it with a wave of my hand for small objects like a bottle cap. It worked, the cap crunched and fell into my hand.

"Neat trick, where'd you learn that?" He asked me, judging by his tone he really thought it was a trick, he must have thought that I'd broken the door with my hands.

"It's not a trick. It's empathic power. Like Rose." I said as I gulped my beer.

"You have atomic manipulation?" He asked me, suddenly wide eyed as if I'd come here to kill him.

"No, I can't manipulate anything, only crush particles." As if that made it any better at all.

"So anyway, moving on, what was it you needed help with." He said, sounding fully open to the idea of helping.

* * *

I explained how the Order were a primary threat now that we had four sirens, I explained how we we're entering a team into the tournament so that we could win Torgue's support.

"I understand that you would come to me to win my uncles favour but I don't understand what I have to do with the Order." He said simply.

"Because through some serious information grading with a tech siren I figured out where they believe their precious Reckoning will happen. Loboria." This caught Jace's eye. He looked at me intently trying to see whether or not I was lying to him.

"Loboria?" He asked me as if he'd heard me wrong.

"Loboria." I nodded.

"Ah shit, let's get my uncles support then. This is the last time I help you out Ten. Any more than this and Rose will sniff me out so to speak."

"Surely she would understand as it is central around the fate of your people?" I asked him with a queried look.

"She might or she might not, either way." He held out his hand to finalise this deal.

"Deal." I said as I shook his hand as we both moved out of his dingy little metal apartment. And made our way down to where the entries to the tournament were being set up. From the balcony we were standing on, I could see Gen. What a surprise, he'd brought all of the Sirens bar Angel.

"Gen." I said calmly through the ECHO I'd been given.

"Yeah?" He asked with a brimming smile as he spotted me above the crowd.

"You're an asshole." I said as I noticed the angry faces of Lilith and Maya then the excited face of Fuse.

"Oh I know." He said as he switched it off. OK, let's play it like that. I rose into the sky, lots of people pointed up in disbelief, one woman fainted as the sight of a flying man. I wasn't really flying, more hovering above everyone. Jace jumped up just in time to grab hold of my ankle so that he got fast track into the front of the cue. To be fair he would have gotten it anyway.

"What the hell is HE doing here?" Lilith asked maliciously with her shotgun trained on Jace's face. He let go of my ankle and landed between all three of the sirens. He put a hand of Lilith's gun and lowered it slowly.

"For now, we've got to play nice, think you can handle that sugar tits?" Jace asked her in what he probably thought was a seductive voice. Sugar tits, nice touch Jace, she's going to kick your ass one day.

"And what's HE got to say about this?" Maya asked as she stared at me, determined to get a word in with me. I released all of my energy I'd dedicated to flying and landed gracefully on the ground. I walked past her completely. She didn't like that one bit, she grabbed my shoulder and her sirens tattoo's had begun to light up.

"We're going to talk about this at some point Ten, there's no avoiding it." She said as she phase locked my body in place without the visual effects, she could do that via touching what she wanted to lock in place. My body naturally resisted and I broke free of her power.

"Not if I can help it." I said as I approached the man who was co-ordination the signing process; Mr. Torgue himself.

"WHAT'S UP VAULT HUNTERS! YOU ENTERING A TEAM OR WHAT!?" He shouted. Good old Torgue, the same as always.

"We are. Count us in for a team of six." I said as he made a note of that on his digitech pad which was relaying information directly to the team responsible for the logistics of it all.

"With as team of six you need to have two team leaders, STATE THEIR NAMES!" Torgue responded still not recognising me. Jace was behind me and facing away.

"Jace Torgue is team leader number one." I said and that caught his attention.

"Jace?"

"Yeah, I'm here with the vault hunters." He said as he came into view.

"Well, that's just unfair for everyone else, oh well and the second team leader?" Torgue asked me. I putting his not remembering me down to the fact that I'm wearing goggles, I've got a small beard and dreadlocked hair.

"Ten." I said as I pulled up my goggles. He slowly rose from his seating position, looking me in the eyes.

"Dear god… YOU ASSH*LES BETTER NOT F*CKING BLOW UP THIS GOD DAMN ARENA AS WELL!" He shouted. Good, he remembers me.

"AT LEAST NOT BEFORE I DO!" He reconciled. Enough of this steroid junkie shouting in my face, time to get to the arena for the first match.

"So what exactly do we have to do in order to win this tournament?" Fuse asked from behind me.

"We do singles matches, a simple to the death fight. Then the remaining teams fight as teams in order to get to the top." Lilith chipped in. A 'simple' fight to the death. Couldn't have phrased it any better myself.

"Hey you, vault hunters right? You don't look nothing special to me, I could beat you with one pec tied behind my back!" Said a big machine type THING? It's probably meant to be a mechanically enhanced man of some sort.

"Jace, who's this cock junkie?" I asked as I stared at the popeyed weirdo.

"Oh that's Piston, don't pay him any state of mind, he's just a flat out coward." Jace said as he lead the others towards the arena.

"You do look really weak." I said casually. Mr. Torgue had been watching this exchange intently, paying no attention to the people next in his signup cue. "Hey, I wanna join the tournament." The customer complained.

"F*ck off! We're closed for now." He stated as he swivelled in his chair to watch me and Piston exchanging words.

"Boy if I was allowed to kill outside of this arena, you'd be dead before you drew another breath!" Piston threatened me.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! PRESENTING THE FIRST MATCH OF THE DAY, PISTON VERSES TEN! THAT'S RIGHT THE EXACT SAME TEN THAT BEAT EVERYONE IN MY LAST TOURNAMENT WITH JACE TWELVE YEARS AGO, THE EXACT SAME DEMON THAT BLEW UP MY LAST ARENA, LADIES AND GENTLEMENT PISTON HAD THREATENED AND I AS THE EHAD OF THE TORGUE CORPORATION HAVE ALLWOED THESE TWO CHALLENGERS TO GO AT IT OUTSIDE OF THE TOURNAMENT. COMMENCE!" Torgue announced over a megaphone.

"The fuck'd he get a megaphone from?" I asked, already distracted from the weakling who had tried to punch me in the face.

"That's it vault hunter, you've got the big guns now!" Piston shouted in rage, I didn't even do anything, he threatened me, then he threw a terrible punch that missed by miles.

"OK, sure, let's do this." I said as I waved my hand across the air in front of my lazily and crushed the metal parts of his body leaving him crippled and in pain.

"How is he doing that?" Lilith asked, a little angry because I'd gained even more power. Maya shrugged and Gen just turned and kept walking towards the tournament gates.

'**Do it again, this time just relax and use the power that comes to your fingertips.**' Fuel said. I did exactly as he told me and relaxed as I did it, massive amounts of energy began to flow from my body and I saw parts of Piston actually begin to turn to dust and flow into the wind.

"No! Vault hunter no! Have mercy!" Piston shouted as I dissipated both of his arms, his big metal backpack and most of his face.

"Why? You wouldn't show mercy to anyone else." I said calmly as I carried on.

"Ten please." Maya said, grabbing my arm. Once she had a hand on me her tattoos glowed violently but she wasn't trying to phase lock me, she could feel the power going through my arm, I don't know what made me stop, I just did and left Piston to cry in the corner, he'd need some serious upgrades to ever face me again.

"AND THAT'S IT LADIES AND GENTLEMENT A WIN FOR THE VAULT HUNTERS!" Torgue announced, we're off to an awesome start, we haven't even stepped inside the arena yet and we're winning.

"Get off." I grunted and shook Maya's arm free of my own and followed Gen up to where we had to wait for the first match up. Torgue would give us support against the order no matter what, but this tournament would help take some of the stress off of me.

"What's your problem Ten!?" Maya responded angrily, phase locking me again, only this time I couldn't break free of it.

"MY problem? My problem is EVERYTHING that happened in the high school!" I shouted in fury. It wasn't her fault, not really.

"So that's what this is about? You can't approach this like an adult can you?" Maya looked pissed, she just walked on. I couldn't handle it like an adult? How could she say that after everything we went through?

* * *

Gaige was sitting on a makeshift stool in her workshop. She'd digistructed Death-trap but taken him offline so that she could build some upgrades into his armour configuration.

She was sitting with her back to the door and had taken her jacket off because it had gotten too hot with her soldering a metal plate that had a new experimental form of electric pylons installed inside the folds into the metal. An electric armour plating was the initial idea but she actually had no idea how it would work in a combat environment. There was a knock on her workshop door. "Come in!" She shouted out as she continued to weld this prototype together.

"Hey honey, have time for a little chat?" Moxxi walked through the door examining the area.

"Of course I do, what's up Moxxi?"

"Oh I just wanted to have a little talk with you about what's gone on recently, it's all been a bit of a flurry with Ten coming back." Moxxi said as she frantically looked for a chair that didn't have oil on it, she decided to prop herself up on the gleaming work bench instead.

"Okay." Gaige responded slowly as she put down her welding tool and put her goggles back onto the top of her head.

"What's happening with Maya?" Moxxi asked, staring out of the window on the opposite side of the room.

"Wow, jumping right into the deep end huh? Well OK, as far as I know Maya is in a real tough spot. She was devastated when Ten left, she was just about warming up to Axton when he came back and ruined it all with his natural, ahem with her attraction to him." Gaige said, going slightly red in the face as she remembered her little confrontation with him.

"What was that? Did you have a personal run in with him?" Moxxi asked, looking on cheekily, she really knew her way around people.

"Oh yeah, he came into the workshop asking that I touch up the blades he was carrying, then he made a few comments on how he hadn't noticed that I was no longer a 'sweet little Gaige' and I kinda did my own thing right back at him." Gaige said, going red before finding something else to do to Death-trap which wouldn't be noisy.

"Ahh, if anyone asks, you were taught by the best, then what happened?" Moxxi asked, eager to see this story through to the end.

"I said, 'this little Gaige' and unbuttoned my shirt but he pushed me away. For the best I suppose, I'm not attracted to him anyway, I was just curious about how far I could push it." Gaige said as she recovered a miniscule part of her dignity on the matter.

"Right, OK I'll leave you be on that for a while. So what's going on with the other sirens then? I haven't caught up with them for a while and I thought that you might know more about it." Moxxi smiled, Gaige didn't want to admit it but even she found Moxxi really attractive.

"Well, Lilith is having a real hard time figuring things out and instead just gets angry at Ten. The best part is that he let Gen have control on wh he picks for the team that goes into the Torgue tournament." Gaige said as she found a monkey wrench in a box full of unorganized heavy metal tools that she had lying on its back.

"Who went? Salvador and Brick have gone back onto hunting down rival bandit clans so it wouldn't have been them." Moxxi said as she remembered the stream of curse words Salvador asked her to proof read from a letter to the head of a bandit clan. She'd told him it was no use as they probably couldn't read. Gaige snorted at the answer to her question.

"Fuse, Lilith and Maya. They're all supposed to be Ten's team." Gaige said, amused with how that might end.

"Oh my god." Moxxi said slowly, it was partially her fault that it would be so awkward for them.

"Well you say that, but actually Ten retaliated to our intervening with his whole lone wolf solo act type thing he's got going on for him and went to his old buddy the one that tried to kill him a few months ago, yeah he's working with him on fighting through the tournament with the sirens and Gen. Roland was not pleased at all when he'd been told that." Gaige said as she winced at the memory of Roland getting angry. He wasn't particularly violent but it was so unnatural for their fearless leader to lose his cool that it in itself made her scared.

"You don't say. Anything else on that front?"

"If there is anything else I'm not the one to ask, you'd have to talk to Angel but I don't know where she's gone, I was looking for her earlier." Gaige frowned, when she needed something badly, Angel was never around.

"Are Angel and Zero, you know?"

"Having sex, dating? What? Well actually they're doing both of those things but they were doing that before anyway so I don't see that as being a big shocker to anyone." Gaige laughed.

"Anything else that's changed? I mean apart from Ten coming back to Sanctuary. That's a bit weird, did you hear that he'd taken the city of Opportunity and was living there the whole time?" Moxxi asked as if this still surprised her.

"Yeah, I'd heard that when they found him he had a blade to Brick's throat and that he was completely naked, it sounds normal for Ten thought, especially seeing as there was a siren there. Power attracts power, that's what Fuse keeps saying and I get what she means, but his kind of power attracts everything. Oh well that's about all I know Moxxi, you'd have to talk to Angel otherwise." Gaige sighed heavily as she pulled her goggles down over her eyes.

"OK, well thanks for having this little chat, see you 'round Gaige." Moxxi said as she slid off the workbench and left Gaige's workshop, presumably to get back to her bar.

* * *

"Roland, where's Zero?" Angel asked as she walked into Roland's office. Yeah, Roland now has an office.

"I don't know Angel, you're the only one who can see past his cloaking device." Roland muttered without looking up from his ECHO net computer. He was relaying information to a small group of hunters, there were three of them and they were said to be some of the deadliest hunters in this planet system but this was Pandora and things here were a little different. Roland was informing them of Pandora and its environments and invited them to stay in the safe boundaries of Sanctuary.

"But I can't find him, I think he's upgraded it specifically so that I can't." She said with a dire voice. This got Roland's attention.

"What, are you having relationship problems?" He asked her curiously.

"I don't know, it's been awful since we defeated Jack and the vault key restored our memories, a lot of pain was introduced that day. Everyone felt the pressure. Ten went missing, Maya was distant for that whole two months, Lilith just got angry whenever Ten was mentioned."

"I know, things between me and Lilith haven't been the same, we're no longer together, she's just too distant to be focused on anything right now." Roland said as he closed the lid of his laptop. Deep in thought about what's got all of the sirens so riled up, excluding the imminent threat of the order.

"That's also another thing we need to focus on. Ten. He's different, he's changed and I can't tell whether it's good or bad." Angel said as she took a seat on the other side of Roland's desk, this would be a conversation that had to be carried out carefully.

"I've seen the video feeds that we've managed to capture. I can't read people as well as some others but I can gather as much to say that's his mental state is residing in his primitive side, he's accepting the animal inside him." Roland scratched his chin, he knew all too well exactly what Ten was prone to, it was in his nature, but so far he hadn't let anything take over.

"And what of the demons?" Roland continued.

"Since we found him, there's been no signs of them at all, perhaps the key neutralised them." Angel suggested as she opened a bottle of water and began drinking.

"No, they're as strong as he is at the very least, they wouldn't have been purged by the vault key. But the fact that they haven't surfaced shows us that Ten is in control." Roland said, trying to think of a solution to this. Ten had taken over the city of Opportunity, this was the last stronghold that Roland was going to take because he knew that it would be a bloody battle and that there were still civilians living inside that city. Hyperion may have built that city but the people living inside it were as innocent as those in Sanctuary or Overlook. Three cities that were independent. Sanctuary was a flying city impervious to ground assault, Opportunity was under Ten's personal protection but Overlook had no immediate defences, they'd have to change that.

"Angel, we're going to have to continue this conversation later, I've got something more important for you to do right now." Roland said as he opened the laptop again so that he could arrange for some special equipment to be brought down to Sanctuary from the ECHO net.

"What exactly is that?" Angel asked, annoyed that Roland had put her on hold for the moment.

"We need to find some sort of defence for Overlook, they're pretty much an independent city, or they will be from here on out and they need defences, especially if we've got the Order trying to get our sirens, then we've got the DMs who won't hesitate in destroying whole cities to get one target. They need some form of defence." Roland said as he clicked the order button on the ECHO net's digi-store.

"What kind of defence do you want?" Angel asked suspiciously.

"Can you restore our old bubble shield? I can get someone to bring it up here then over to Overlook." Roland said, it caught Angel's surprise, an upgraded shield would actually be effective for Overlook.

"Sure I can. Get it done and Overlook will be defended for at the very least a frontal assault." Angel said as she stood to leave.

"Oh and Angel, take Zero who I just saw run through the courtyard and a few others down to Overlook, they're suffering from worryingly organised bandit attacks as of recent, you might run into some trouble." Roland said with one final smile as he returned to his work. He then realised that most likely he'd be the last raider, aside from Moxxi and Hammerlock depending on who Angel chose to go with her.

Roland wondered how many Raiders were still in Sanctuary as of now. There was himself and Angel, Zero just ran past his line of sight out of his window, Gaige was in her workshop. Mordecai was at Moxxi's with Moxxi and Hammerlock. Brick and Salvador were hunting down Bandits. Lilith, Maya and Fuse went with Gen to aid Ten, that leaves Krieg somewhere, and Axton should still be in Sanctuary. Astor? Where the hell is Astor?

"Angel, whatever you do, leave Astor here, I need him for the strategy meeting later. Oh and can you call Axton up please." Roland said over the ECHO. He didn't even know if Astor was in Sanctuary at the moment but if he was then it was vital that Angel didn't take him with her. He'd inevitably be here when Roland needed him, unless someone else stole him for the call of danger and loot.

"Fine. I don't know where he is either actually, I'll just take Zero, Gaige and Krieg. Axton is out with Ten's team at the tournament." After Angel said that she sent out a broadcast to those people she mentioned and told them to meet her by the fast travel station. Roland had sent a team of engineers to get the old shield pylon which controlled the entire dome, and bring it to Overlook, which should be done by the time Angel's team were finally ready. She caught a unique wind rush past her and instantly de-cloaked Zero's sneaking suit. He was simply walking away from where she was standing. Angel had done it a lot at this point so Zero knew exactly when his suit's cloaking device had been disabled.

"We're going to have to talk it through at some point, you can't escape it forever, what's got you so bugged?" Angel asked her lover with hurt in her eyes. They'd shared everything with each other since what happened with the vault key, these two were really made for each other, outcasts in their own eyes.

"Later." Zero commented as he re-cloaked and went about his business, Angel was going to force Zero to talk to her when they went to Overlook, giving Gaige and Krieg a task that would mean Angel had the space to force Zero to come to her, clever girl.

* * *

I wonder if I can get any popcorn around here. Not because I'm hungry, and not even because it's an entertaining match, but more because I'm bored. They've decided to pit Gaige against a supposedly tough opponent or more so, opponents, twins in fact, but that's fine because on the off chance that they're too much for her, she would just pull Death-trap to the field and even it out. She did exactly that but not because there were remotely decent fighters at all but because she got bored of kicking their asses so easily and let Death-trap have some fun.

Lilith came along and sat down next to me, she'd said something to Jace and he'd willingly walked over to where Axton and Fuse were spectating next to the arena barrier, he made a crude motion then lifted his shoulders when Axton and Fuse gave him evil looks, he probably offered a bet that Gaige bit the dust.

"We need to talk." She said calmly as she followed Gaige's movement with her eyes, probably so that she could keep them off me. I have this thing about me where women can't help but be side tracked, some men also experience it, I don't personally swing towards men but it's just one of those things.

"About what?" I asked her, there's no point delaying it further; I have to let her confront me about it.

"Everything. What happened to you?" She asked me, turning and holding the stare so suddenly that it shocked me and I had to look away. She wants the truth but I'm haven't yet convinced myself of it.

"My mind went dark, overburdened by the truth the vault key revealed, I felt second best to Axton the moment I remembered, I couldn't deal with all of that coming back, I felt the need to kill, the want to kill something with my bare hands, I ran for miles and didn't stop until I couldn't run anymore, and then I ran some more. I found myself lost in a dead wasteland, only rocks and ruins around me. I had no weapons except for a shiv I made out of some flint. I killed a thresher with it and then I hit a sudden wall of impenetrable mental fortitude, I'd struck the side of my mind that was purely animal and driven only by instinct I found my way to Opportunity." As I told her the story of how I came to own the city, she looked at me with wide eyes, horrified that I'd subjected myself to this.

"I regained some sense of humanity, but most of me remained primitive, I needed to keep myself sated, I hunted down Hyperion in the night and after a few weeks I'd killed off the entire Hyperion rule in Opportunity and the city was mine. The demons have disappeared, there's been no urge to kill since I touched the vault key, they're still there, but they've been sent into a dormant stasis, overcome by my pure mental dominance." I finished telling her what she needed to hear. I left out the part where I'd called upon Fuel, she didn't need to know that.

"OK, I can believe that, I can even believe you not wanting to come back to Sanctuary, but what about Maya? She loved you, I couldn't tell you where she stands on that now because she won't confide in anyone, she never would. She finds it hard to even work in the same group as Axton anymore, we're all finding it hard." Lilith looked on at the carnage, Gaige had won the match as everyone expected and Jace and Axton were called up to work with each other this time. They had no problem with that, Jace was bored and Axton wanted to see how well Jace could fight.

"Her and Axton were perfect, there really were, it's not an opinion, it's a fact, when she saw me remember that, it tore her up from indecision and not wanting people to get hurt, I did her a favour." I stayed quiet or a moment after that, I wanted Lilith to respond but she couldn't argue with me, I was absolutely right, Maya and Axton were right for each other, and she'd done nothing about that.

"Is that why you were angry with me? Because I left her or because I left everyone?" I asked, suddenly realising that my mere presence would be enough to prevent most uprisings between rogue factions of Pandora that would refuse union under responsible rule. The local bandit clans had stories about the Demon of the Fire. They really are amusing stories, I don't know exactly what purpose they serve between bandit clans because given the chance they'll probably try to kill me anyway, some might even see it as a challenge.

"You were our best chance of keeping Pandora from destroying itself." Lilith said as she looked down and away from me. She wasn't angry because of anything to do with anyone else, she really was angry because I left even after what she'd told me on the bottom of that cliff. I wasn't just leaving Maya, I meant something to each of these people and they were all hurt by my decision.

Jace and Axton's match had started, they were against a brigade of Goliath's, I'm pretty sure that's against the rules, but Mister Torgue would have known exactly how strong Jace is so this won't be a problem, plus I hear that Gaige has done some impressive adjustments to Axton's Sabre, shields, how cool is that? When he throws it down it deploys a large bubble field that he can shoot out of but nothing can shoot into, hardcore, that's what that is, pure hardcore. I've just realised I no longer have a shield. Wait, did I ever? I can't remember, that's not good.

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that, but you're going to have to sort yourselves out, I'm helping the Raiders on your Order problem then I'm going to vanish again." I told her, not hiding my pure intention to do exactly what I'd said I would. Jace was down and Axton was being held behind cover, this might get interesting. Suddenly Jace screamed and his scream quickly got deeper as his vocal chords grew and his bones extended to fit the effort of his transformation. Soon there was a huge wolf human hybrid, or werewolf as it's more commonly known, a Lycan by those who have an education. He howled which sent the Goliaths into a fearful frenzy running awkwardly away from Jace who covered the distance in a blur, he used his immensely sharp claws to easily cut through the first one's armour. It was a Caustic Goliath, one that had been dipped in acid as a child or something like that.

The Goliath tried to spit at Jace as he swiped the helmet off causing it to berserk, he didn't realise his mistake but Axton had his back and quickly laid out two well-placed sniper rounds straight into its deformed skull. Axton and Jace quickly wiped out the remainder of the Goliaths and the round ended. Torgue's voice boomed over the speakers. "Another MOTHER F***ING WIN FOR THE CRIMSON RAIDERS! Next up we've got the brotherhood of gloom who sound like a bunch of emo pussies, verses two of the Crimson Raiders strongest fighters! First we have Maya! A beautiful blue headed siren!" Torgue said happily. Maya walked into the arena to a huge round of applause and wolf whistles.

"I wonder who she's going to be partnered with." Lilith said with real curiosity.

"And the second fighter in today's last match doesn't really need an introduction, you all remember Ten right! That very same ASSHOLE WHO BLEW UP MY LAST ARENA! TEN, GET DOWN HERE AND FIGHT LIKE A BADASS!" Torgue shouted.

"Oh dear." Lilith said as she noticed Maya's look of rising anger. I love this, I'm getting all of the women's attention. Time for my dramatic entrance. I jumped over the high railing and landed on my feet, I've changed just as much as this arena has, the last time I was here it was a pile of smouldering rubble and I didn't have dreadlocks and a beard… Or goggles for that matter, this will be fun

Maya was going to have some serious words with me at some point, I can see it in her eyes. I lifted my arms up in a roaring applause as I let my cloak fall to the ground. Off side I heard Jace mutter something to Axton.

"Something's never change, drama queen." He laughed, I heard this and flipped him the bird as I continued to receive my standing ovation. I've never heard of the brotherhood of gloom, Torgue was right though, they do sound like raging emos. I pulled my blades out of their back holsters I've also got two in either shin placement but those aren't my preferred slaughtering tool. Maya pulled out a gun that looked familiar, it was my Hellfire, I swear I gave that to Fuse. She must have given it to Maya when I disappeared. The arena horn sounded and a load of black haired goons filled the arena and totally surrounded us. The bearded their teeth, they're either cannibals or wannabe vampires. Or maybe they're real vampires. One of them charged at me and I punched him in the face cracking his nose and half of his jaw. I think they're real vampires.

"Maya, these guys are a tad supernatural. Maya?" I asked as I turned to see they had her arms and legs and one of them had his mouth poised over where her neck was now pumping a rather large vein near the surface. In that instant my brain went into overload and I felt a surge of power from everyone and everything around me, I pulled everything I had into it and sent my body into a slam that propelled the vampire near Maya's neck into one of the barriers around the arena so hard that he exploded into a red mist of bloody body parts. My eyes filled with fire, this is it, this is what he was waiting for, I feel the burn flowing through my body, it's been so long but it feels so good.

"Get out of here, now." I said to Maya as she backed off, surprised as how quickly I'd responded. The rest of the vampires swarmed me, not one of them fast enough to land a hit, I let Heat propel his blood boiling rage through my body as the change happened swiftly and painfully, I loved every moment that I could feel myself changing. The power was stacked too high and then it happened I became the secondary conscience, fire and raw power exploded outwards, incinerating those too close and sending those who were further away running frantically trying to douse the flames. Rest for now, he's earned his share of the violence after what seemed like a lifetime of domesticated silence.

* * *

The fire subsides and I feel empowered, reawakened. The imminent threat of the death of Maya stirred something inside me, she reawakened my true nature. It feels good to be alive again. It's not the demon that caused the fire after all; it was my own burning desire to see to it that Maya and the rest were safe. I'm going to enjoy this more than I should. I wildly threw my guns backwards overhead to where I assumed the rest of the vault hunters were. The fire has burned and singed my beard off in the cleanest fire fuelled shave ever. My hair still remains the same though, a few burnt tips is the most of the damage.

I punched the first enemy that got too close with such speed and ferocity that he barrelled into a few of his pals behind him and took them to the floor. Another one got close enough to be put into the pain. I lashed out with a kick to the throat that took him off the ground before he slammed brutally into the ground with a sickening crack that signified he wouldn't get up for another attack, he was either down for good or dead; either way it felt good.

These vampires became wary of me, actually trying to co-ordinate an attack on me, I'm too fast for any of them, granted they are much faster than regular humans, I'm not sure how strong they are as none of them have landed a single punch.

I spoke too soon, a whopping punch that was delivered to my diaphragm sent me skidding along the floor in a defence position. OK, so they really are stronger and faster than regular people, but apparently they are just as easily killed. I looked up from my locked arms to see the vampire that I kicked to the floor and presumably broke either his back or neck had now giddily risen and stood ready for round two.

The person who landed the punch moved through the crow with grace, a female, straight shoulder length red hair, blood red hair to match her blood red eyes. I suppose she's presumably the leader. I took off my goggles to get a better look at her, no doubt about it she was as beautiful as the sirens which is incredibly rare for a planet like Pandora.

"Very few can match a vampire in hand to hand combat. Nobody should ever be allowed to take on this many and live. So who are you exactly?" She asked me in an accent that sounded similar to that of Captain Scarlett's.

"Did she just say vampire?" Axton asked as if this was off his 'weird shit meter'.

"Vampires? No shit huh, I guess this is about to get interesting." Jace smirked as he lept high over the barrier and walked over to join my side.

"No, Jace, wait!" Lilith shouted at him but he obviously wasn't going to listen or take orders from any raider except for me.

"My name is Ten. How exactly is your shaken pal still alive." I asked as I pulled my goggles back down over my eyes as Jace joined me.

"Vampires mate, we're pretty sturdy. I get the feeling that you are as well that punch would have split the skin all around a normal person and shattered their bones outwards, you didn't even flinch." She said with an amused smile, she saw me as a play thing. Something that she 'd really be able to get some use out of.

"Me?" I asked her innocently. "I'm indestructible." I answered her with a deathly glare that she didn't take light heartedly, and rightly so, she could tell just from looking at me that I emanated raw power.

"We've not only got people surrounding you now but there's enough of us to swarm this place completely, so tell me, unless you plan on forfeiting this match, how exactly do you intend to beat us?" She asked me, that smug smile registering across her face once more.

"Like this." I answered quickly as I began to tense my body up, but Jace put an arm across my chest before I could do anything.

"Hold up big guy, we can do this without that. I don't want to explain to my uncle why we blew up another one of his arena's." Jace said to me with an amused yet serious smile.

"Uncle?" She frowned. "You're Jace Torgue then." Her frown deepened and her brow furrowed as she struggled to remember exactly what was special about Jace, she knew there was something about him which made him stand out.

"Yes ma'am. Jace Torgue, Death's Messenger, at your service." He bowed deeply.

"Now is NOT the time to seduce her. Just let me blow this place sky high, get Torgue to comp it." I answered quickly, annoyed that he'd intervened.

"A DM hey? This just got interesting." She smiled like the hunt had begun.

"Uncle, the match is off, this fight is for keeps, evacuate civies." Jace said into his ECHO device.

"I'm still going to film it." Torgue responded as he clearly realised an all-out large scale death match would be great for viewership. The rest of the raiders joined us from behind. I turned to ward them off, this was a match for the supernatural.

"No, this isn't your fight, Lil you have to take these guys back to Sanctuary, I'll allow Angel to broadcast it if you do." I said. They were reluctant but they agreed, before they left us be Maya slowly walked up to me. I was expecting a slap but what she did next shocked me completely.

"What do you expect me to do?" She asked me, arms crossed.

"You're talking about this confusing love triangle aren't you?" I asked her seriously. She simply nodded like it had been in plain sight the whole time, which to be fair, it had.

"That man standing over there loves you. That man standing over there isn't an animal like me." I said, keeping up my serious tone.

"Or me." Jace pitched in unhelpfully. I gave him the classic 'You're not helping' look of despair.

"This isn't over, we're going to work this out." She said before stalking off to where Lilith was waiting to take them back to the safety of Sanctuary.

"Keep her safe Ax." I said calmly. He nodded in recognition of the sacrifice of love.

I flicked the switch on the side of the ECHO that was still in my ear, and Angel made a few noises as a sign that it was live.

"You're such a douchebag." I smirked as I turned back to the vampires that were all poised in place.

"Oh, that happened." I said as I noticed them all standing there. Their leader had her arms crossed and was watching us contently.

"You going to a beat?" Jace asked me in a familiar tone, where had I heard him say that before? Rakkeria and countless other missions, we used to listen to music when we fought against the odds.

"Of course, what's yours?" I asked him calmly so as not to provoke the vampires that were closing in on us. I suddenly realised that not only was I still topless that I actually had scratch marks where the vampire leader had hit me. I stared at it in disbelief. Now I have to remember how to manually heal that.

I put two of my fingers in it to register that it was actually my blood, it was. I tensed up and made my power internally flow over that area and all of the vampires watched in awe as the cuts that should have been horrendous scars healed over in front of their eyes.

The woman wasn't impressed, she looked pissed off.

"I'm thinking Animals by Nickelback." Jace responded cheerfully.

"That song about sex in cars?" I asked him in shock. He probably picked it just for the title.

"Yeah, what's yours?"

"Riot, Three Days Grace, hit it Angel." I said. That sounded better in my head, hopefully Angel won't make me look even worse.

She played the song through the local systems, this has a nice rhythm that I can kill vampires to. They all swarmed us. To my surprise; Jace hadn't transformed yet, he was doing a well enough job dodging and attacking the vampires as they came to him, he'd trained significantly since our battle in that dingy little shanty town where I'd kicked his arse. I wondered how he'd gotten so much stronger and faster, but as I looked towards the sky I suddenly realised it, the skyline was dark but still filled with light, the luminous light of a full moon. Jace didn't need to transform because the moon was making him powerful enough to take on these vampires as a human.

I laughed as I caught another vampire in mid jump and slammed him into the ground behind me.

"Jace, they're just going to keep getting up, make sure you kill them." I shouted over the crowd of the oncoming undead.

"How exactly do we kill them?" He asked, so far he'd just been playing around with them.

"Like this." I said as I double kicked one of them in the chin causing me to flip backwards as he was pushed high into the air, I jumped up so that I could demonstrate my killing technique without being interrupted. I engaged my monstrously strong muscles and legendary strength to rip the vampires head off of his shoulders, bones snapped and muscles ripped as the blood began to flow out of this vampire and I dropped his body in their midst and threw his head to the feet of their female leader.

"Decapitation? Got it." Jace laughed maniacally as he tried to pulled one of their heads off but he only got so far as to cause some painful neck stretching, he'd have to transform to get their heads apart from their necks. Luckily though, he had picked up my harness with the Jackal and the Howitzer holstered nicely in them. The firepower from those guns would be more than enough to make a mess of the vampires brains. Jace began to put round after round into the oncoming waves. Before long their numbers dwindles then stopped completely, leaving just me and Jace facing off the woman standing impassively in front of us.

"Very good, but you boys are looking at a whole new breed." She said.

"Hopefully I am." Jace smirked.

"Totally inappropriate." I commented as she blurred and when I looked down, she had her razor sharp fingernails firmly against my throat.

"I wouldn't advise your currently course of action." I said calmly. Jace snorted and sat down on a rock and pulled a cigarette and lighter out of his pocket.

"And why is that pretty boy?"

"Hey! I thought I was the pretty one!?" Jace asked, shocked that he had been chosen as a secondary in that aspect.

"You're fine Jace Torgue, but you're not quite as shrouded in mystery as this one." She laughed as she slowly moved a finger across my throat, causing a tiny graze that began to bleed before congealing over a few seconds later.

"So, why is it a bad idea to be doing this exact thing?" She asked once more.

"Because it would take me a whole twenty seconds to heal myself, secondly the fact that healing myself is irritating and best avoided, and lastly and this is really the more important part; It can get a little hot standing there." I said. I could see the entertainment value of her face from Jace's reaction as I pulled Heat's power through my entire body, setting fire to my skin before turning into that iconic fearful body that belonged to the demon. The fire that I brought up caused her to frantically scatter away from us. She looked shocked but still content with fighting us none the less.

I doused the flames from my body and my skin returned to normal, but the face was different, the eyes took a little bit longer to change back to normal, and this scared her. Good. She smiled soon after and that was when I realised what she was smiling at, she'd picked up my guns and was aiming them right at my stomach, four rounds from each gun dispelled straight into my abdomen making a very painful mess, I was felled to my hands and knees but not put straight out of the fight, still, it's best to let Jace take this one.

"Holy shit." Jace said as he looked at me struggling to heal my wounds.

"I guess she's mine-" Jace never finished as the leader kicked him away with a surprising amount of force, even to him. She wasn't lying, she was on a whole new level as opposed to the other thralls.

"Listen Lady, I'd hate to have to kill you without a name." Jace said politely.

"Don't be polite, kill that bitch!" I shouted as blood filled up my gullet.

"In a minute, I'm being a gent." Jace retorted in a voice that was completely unlike his own.

"Noo! You just want to sleep with her!" I groaned.

"The name's Jack. Do with it what you will, most likely taking it to your grave as you're going to die very soon." She smirked.

"You aren't a dude are you?" Jace asked, suddenly wide eyed.

"Jack as in Jacqueline you massive furry twat!" I responded in anger.

"Furry? Dare I ask?" Jack asked him with a devilish grin, she had no idea what she'd just stumbled upon. I began laughing loudly despite the blood blocking most of my audible functions.

"No need to ask, I'll show you." Jace said as he howled as a human but as he continued and his vocal chords changed the howl became one of dread and death as his body changed into that of the werewolf. Jack couldn't believe her eyes. She shouldn't be surprised, we never thought vampires were real until today.

Jace had changed fully and he completely out matched her, he was faster and stronger, he didn't play around with her either, he wanted it to be known. Jace pushed forwards and knocked her against the side of the arena where he clawed at the concrete that she'd narrowly pushed herself away from. Jack kicked Jace's ribs but her foot did barely anything as he swung around for another swipe that caught her midriff, cutting her open but only on the skin, no severe bruising. By this point I was back on my feet and pulling bullets out of my stomach as I reknit the flesh behind their retracted trails.

Jace punched her in the shoulder making it go limp, she screamed in agony as she pulled a small green phial from her belt and crushed it beneath her boot. A green smokescreen was deployed and then she had disappeared.

Jace was back in human form when he got over to me.

"What the hell was that? You lost her." I said angrily. Jace never lost prey.

"Yeah well, no one has ever been as fast as her, one moment she was there the next she was gone, I can smell her scent on the wind but she's too far away now. I have no doubt she's going to hold a grudge against us." Jace laughed as we walked out to the fast travel outside the arena.

"Why me?" I asked innocently.

"Dude, you burnt her hair." I stopped dead in my tacks as he said this.

"Oh shit." I admitted as we caught the fast travel station back to Sanctuary, I should probably get Zed to check these bullet wounds out.

* * *

**Please review the story if you liked it, it keeps me going! :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Angel lead the way as she entered Overlook from the fast travel station that she had helped the Raiders acquire. She looked up at the moon base with a special kind of anger, the kind where she wanted nothing more than to use all of her siren powers to destroy it where it stood and cause it to fall to the surface of Pandora's moon in a heap of scrap metal.

Zero came out behind her followed by Gaige and Krieg.

"Angel, how far can you project your powers?" Gaige asked as she looked around Overlook at all of the failed mechanical machines. Angel noticed this and waved her hand menially. The important machines around like the vending machines that dispensed the medicine that the residents of Overlook needed to survive suddenly spurred back to life and a few of the towns people came out immediately to get their super painkillers and such.

"Further than this whole area but it has its limits. It's basically anything that I can see." Angel said as she hummed a quiet tune to herself as she noticed Sanctuary's old shield pylon that had been placed there. The raiders had crafted a semi protective shield for Overlook but that wouldn't do much against an aerial battle between Ten and the Order, much less the DMs who were expected to have some heavy artillery.

Angel had to get a lot more power into this pylon than the machines needed, she walked over to it and placed her hands on it, her siren tattoos glowed viciously as she battled against all of the faults that this machines had. There was a spent power-core that the raiders never took out. It was Wilhelm's. Angel hadn't lied when she said that it would power Sanctuary's shield forever, she just needed to start it up again. She finally did it after a minute or so of struggling. The shield formed around Overlook.

"It's done, Overlook should be safe against whatever gets thrown against it from here on out." Angel smiled to herself from seeing her effort pay off.

"You're right. We need to talk." Zero said monotonously through his mask. Angel nodded and they slowly walked around the side of Overlook, inspecting the shield just to make sure that the pylon wasn't faulty.

"Why do you keep running from me?" She asked him suddenly as she stopped and looked right into his eyes. Zero was stunned, he wasn't sure whether or not Angel really could see right through his mask or not, but in the case that she could he had to pull his surprise out of his face.

"You seem to be able to bypass my sneaking suits main functions. What is a man without his tech?" Zero asked her.

"I'm not in love with the suit that everybody knows, I'm in love with the man underneath." Angel said as she softly laid a hand against the faceplate on his mask. Once again he found himself unable to push her hand away or disappear and flee. He wanted the unspoken bond that he and Angel had developed back in Jack's youth prison. Had there not been deaths along the way, the memories that were made in that prison were ones that would both haunt him and remind him of the good times they had. Zero remembered a time when Brick and Ten had a fist fight that ended up in the destruction of one of the corridors. People were placing bets everywhere. Not on who would win the fight, but on how many loaders would be destroyed before the boys were finally detained and put back into their cells. This was a time long before Ten had found a supernatural sense. He was still stronger and faster than everybody, and had his occasional angry outbursts, but he never spit fire or flew around the planet.

Angel murmured to someone over the ECHO device and waved her hand doing her siren thing. Ten's ECHO popped up in the corner of Zero's super advanced HUD that he had built into his mask. It was far more advanced than the other vault hunters. Angel had made various upgrades to hers as soon as she was given one. Roland saw fit to train Angel in the field so that she could defend herself with all manner of weapons if she ever needed to fight.

Ten was standing alone in his ECHO feed, surrounded by a huge crowd of angry emos. Zero saw someone he recognized long from his past. When he used to work covertly with the Death's Messengers; it was Jace. It made sense to Zero. Jace was extremely powerful when it mattered and by the looks of things wherever they were, it was about to matter greatly.

"We should help them." Angel said as she examined every aspect of the video instantly.

"They can handle themselves." Zero said calmly as he slowly trudged back over to the fast travel station so that he could get back to Sanctuary to chill out for the rest of his day, or at least until someone else decided to get him to do another menial task.

"Zero wait, please let me back in." Angel called after him. He stopped where he was standing, but he didn't know what expected to happen. Zero and Angel had shared pain, they had been intimate long before this day. She had seen his face. He felt angry for the fact that she had now betrayed them twice. The other vault hunters three times. But it wasn't her fault, not by Zero's reasoning, and nobody would ever challenge Zero on that.

000000

"What the hell happened down there?" Lilith boomed as myself and Jace hopped into the raider headquarters where Axton and Salvador ran off to find some medical supplies.

"And get me a cold beer while you're at it!" I shouted after whichever one would have heard me.

"I second that." Jace said, exhausted as he was he remained standing for the time being, I wasn't so strong, I collapsed into the sofa and let Lilith rant at me all she wanted to.

"Eh, vampires Red, and a lot of the bastards." Jace remarked as Lilith eyed him carefully. She didn't agree with my reasoning as to why I brought him back to Sanctuary, but I did. He was the one who most deserved to be in on this mission with the order. We had to find some way to track the Order when they went to Loboria.

"Don't call me Red." Lilith snapped at him angrily. Death glare locked onto Jace, he didn't break the stare though, he was a predator this was how he had fun with prey.

"Enough, both of you. Jace don't wind her up. Lilith, it was vampires. That Jack woman cut me pretty badly towards the end, I'm not healing up as I should." I said as I pulled a bullet out of my stomach. I'm not sure which hurt more, the fact that they were my guns and that they made several holes in my abdomen, or that they were MY guns and they absolutely destroyed my pride. Shot with my own guns, what a way that would be to go.

"Ten, report please." Roland said as he strutted into the living room along with Axton who had come back with some spare medical supplies. Zed himself came over to check our wounds. A few scratches on Jace was the worst of it for him, but the bullet holes in me were a sight and a half. Salvador rushed over with a huge keg of beer. Legend.

"I meant a bottle but this will do." I said as I grabbed the chugging filter that was still attached and began to drink myself to blindness. There's nothing better than several litres of ice cold beer after a tiring fight.

After a few more moments of Zed inspecting my wounds and Lilith and Jace fighting to the point where Lilith's siren wings were spread aggressively and Jace was ready to transform, Zed stepped in and saved the day.

"You need some major surgery my friend." He said carefully as he walked between Jace and Lilith. Salvador had gone upstairs with Roland to give him his report on his and Brick's progress with the bandit clans.

"Do I get to have drugs?" I asked him, suddenly aware to an alarming extent.

"If you like."

"Cool, what have you got?" I asked as I struggled to get onto my own two feet once more. I didn't need any help though. Or I didn't think I would but as soon as I walked through the door I feel flat on my face and was too tired to even curse myself, I smoothly slipped into unconsciousness.

00000

Roland called a meeting for everyone. Even Brick had been recalled from bandit duty to be in this meeting. Roland asked Jace to be cool in the meeting if he was to be allowed inside.

"First things first, what the hell is the chihuahua doing here?" Brick asked annoyed that Jace was sitting lazily in one of the chairs with his feet up on the table. Fortunately Jace was actually a very disciplined soldier and always kept his boots clean and polished. He just made a point about it that he had no intention to be in the meeting.

"Chihuahua? You son of a bitch." Jace muttered angrily. His pride had been struck down in one comment, he had to force himself to calm down.

"He was brought in on a special request. Considering what we've learnt about the Order and their plans for the sirens; he has more reason to be here than the rest of us frankly." Roland said calmly. He didn't like it but those words were true, the Order's plans were going to take effect on Loboria, Jace's home planet.

"And the fact that nobody will argue with Ten." Jace smirked as he looked around and saw that he was right, nobody would argue with Ten, but it wasn't for the reason that Jace first assumed.

"Nobody argues with him because he doesn't tell us something without a reason, over the time we've known him he hasn't made any bad calls and I hate to admit it but if he's brought you in then we have no place to disrupt his perfect; decision track record." Angel said politely.

"Would any of you engage him in hand to hand combat?" Jace asked curiously. Brick and Salvador both held their hands up eagerly. Everyone looked at Krieg, surprised that he hadn't immediately agreed with the other muscle heads.

"Is he?" Lilith began but it became apparent to everyone when Krieg began subtly snoring. Krieg was asleep.

"This is a very delicate situation." Zero said lightly as he looked around for anyone brave enough to wake him up.

Gaige walked straight up to Krieg and knocked on the side of his mask. His visible eye sprung open in surprise. He wasn't having a bout of insanity and breakdowns, he genuinely was just asleep.

"Would you fight with Ten one on one Krieg?" Gaige asked him, still standing next to where he was sitting at the end of the table. Krieg thought about it for a moment then nodded.

"The fiery adrenaline would be SO exquisite!" Nobody knew exactly what was meant by that but the best anyone guessed was that he planned on devouring Heat's face or something.

"Right, so anyway we've got a bit of a problem on our hands. The Order; the Order are our number one priority because they've issued threats and by the data we've gathered they intend to hold out on said threats. They're coming for our sirens. We need to defend Sanctuary as best we can. Gaige?" Roland informed everyone of the impending threat of the Order. In the meeting room there were several monitors which showed important data, such as the Order's ship in comparison to Sanctuary, roughly the same size if not a little bit bigger.

"Yeah, I've got a few more turrets being placed around Sanctuary's borders, I've also given them upgrades and Death-trap will be on hand to defend the skies against any small mobiles they might send against us." As Gaige was talking Angel changed all of the monitors to anything relevant to that point before it was Astor's turn to speak.

"It's most likely that they're going to send a ground force in to attack. They wont knock us out of the sky or else they could kill the sirens. It's also highly likely that they're going to try and use some form of knockout gas so that they can avoid harming citizens. We aren't dealing with mercs, these people believe in saving others so we've got that as an advantage." Astor explained.

"If I can replicate the same energy frequency for the shield that I recently re-awoken for Overlook then I can make a shield for Sanctuary. It won't be strong enough to ward off boarding parties but it will do against aerial assault packages handling things like knockout gas." Angel added.

"Great do it. Does anyone else have anything which might help against knockout factors?" Axton looked around, Gen poked his hand up.

"Yeah, if Gaige can make an air dispersal unit which I have no doubt she can, then I can create an air purification formula, so that even if they managed to get through Angel's shield, the air would be far too pure for any kind of concoction to disperse properly." Gen smiled at his own genius. He had more than proven himself in the eyes of the Raiders.

"Is there any way you can help us out in this situation?" Roland turned to Jace after a few moments of people agreeing on the current plan.

"If you can get me on board that ship I can bring it down, the only problem is that I can't tell where it'll land nor can I particularly tell when to spare people who might be of use. It has its pros and cons." Jace said neutrally.

"Then we blast it out of the air! I'll take a squadron of my buzzards and we'll fill that ship with lead!" Brick laughed enthusiastically.

"No." I said as I walked through the door with a fair few bandages around my torso, a few blood stains from the rough stitching decorating them.

"Aww." Brick said as he knew there was no other decision which would allow him to blow things up.

"That's a pretty quick recovery." Jace smirked. I swear that's all he does, makes snide remarks and smirks. Most of the time anyway. I ignored his comments and went straight to business. I would have sat down if the only spare chair was not in-between Maya and Lilith.

"What other way would you suggest hot shot?" Fuse asked annoyed that I'd discarded the most explosive method.

"There are two more sirens on board, I can feel their energies." I said as I strained a little bit as I used Fuel's empathic powers to reach out to them briefly before I gave up and returned to myself. This generated a lot of muttering, it was all about how we would be the strongest force in the universe with all six sirens at one time. I know these last two sirens as does Maya so maybe I should take her with me.

"How exactly can you feel their energies?" Gen asked me suspiciously while he chewed on a pen.

"The same way I can do this." I crushed the particles forming the pen inside his mouth and ink sprayed inside.

"Oh dude, not cool!" He protested as he managed to get most of it out of his mouth before it hit his taste buds.

"You'll live." I said as Jace began laughing with benign amusement.

The monitors suddenly flickered out of control and then reappeared with someone laden with shadows wearing military fatigues similar to Roland's came into view.

"The Crimson Raiders I presume?" The man sounded like an evil Roland.

"Evil Roland?" I asked out loud.

"We are the Shadow League. We are you but superior." The man on the tv said sinisterly.

"Great more assholes." Jace said with a special kind of boredom.

"We do not recognize this one, he is not a vault hunter. You, mouthy one, identify."

"Jace Torgue, Death's Messenger, premium lover, champion of Loboria, the list goes on. Who the fuck are you?" Jace said with an immature grin.

"Premium lover? That's a bit generous of you." I said, holding in my laughter so that it didn't appear that I was taking this situation lightly.

"Enough with your meaningless squabble. You will meet us on even ground so that we may fight to the death. If you do not comply we will destroy Sanctuary and the rest of this pitiful planet, if you do not believe us which is highly expected, we will target the old Hyperion outpost in the Highlands opposite Overlook, you will see the might of our effective military strength, then you will meet us in the Badlands. You will all know soon enough." The monitors flickered off and Angel looked angry.

"They've got someone with amazing tech skills, but even then they shouldn't have actively bypassed my power over our OWN systems!" She raged.

"This conversation isn't over, you've all got the plans for the Sanctuary's defence nailed, keep at it." I said as I went to leave the room.

"Hey asshole, where does that leave you?" Axton asked me. Since I came back he and Maya had been put straight into a standstill and he'd hated me for it.

"I'm going to the Hyperion outpost to see this so called military strength. Come along if you must, it might help you impress your blue headed lover." I said without much malice as I left the room with Axton hot in my heels, already checking his guns for the moment we went through that fast travel station.

00000

I propped down on the other side of the high wall that lead to the old Hyperion compound. I dropped Axton a few feet above the ground. As far as I could tell it was pretty much abandoned aside from the odd skag that ran away before anything happened.

"Who do you think they are?" He asked me as he surveyed the area with the iron sights of his Dahl shot gun.

"They said they were us but better. That not only tells us that they are immediately assholes, but that they unfortunately actually know who we are and chances are they've done their homework and know our strengths and weaknesses."

I heard something zip past with lightning speed, Axton must have noticed something as well because he was suddenly alert.

"Axton put your gun down and slowly retreat." I said as calmly as I could when I saw exactly what it was that made the noise. It was me, a slightly wrong version of me.

"Ahh, brother!" It said in a menacing tone, I can only assume it was talking to me.

"You are no brother of mine. Who are you?"

"I am YOU. But simply a better version. I'm stronger, faster, smarter." It told me.

"You're a clone, and a bad one at that. Axton get back to Sanctuary right now and tell them that clones are now our priority. This guy is the military strength they mentioned." I replied as I put my own clone on the top of my shit list. He had an evil grin as he saw my understanding unfold as the events right in front of me were.

"Not so fast Axton." Another clone emerged from the darkness, it was Axton's clone and it was followed by a clone of Maya.

"What would Sarah say if she saw what you've become?" Axton's clone asked him sinisterly.

"Shut up." Axton nearly froze solid.

"Do you think she'd pity you? No, you've come this far and never looked back, are you going to let Maya down the same way?" The two Axton's locked eyes and before I realised what had happened, the real Axton had launched his tomahawk into his clones leg and run for the fast travel.

"Ooh goody, time to have fun with Ten." The Maya clone giggled.

"Ah fuck my life I'm going to regret doing this." I said as I took up my defensive stance and started to elevate my power so that I could achieve my super form, and judging by the frowns on their faces, this isn't an ability my clone can do which is good. Once I'd received my huge power enhancement I actually looked different and I hadn't noticed that before, my arms were bulging and the surface veins were all popped up.

"Theatricality and deception, powerful agents to the un-initiated." My clone said, directly quoting movies.

"I liked that film!" I boomed, "Now I may never watch it again with any respect for that character, you ASSHOLE!" I shot forwards with a punch that would have dented steel and threw my clone off his balance and a few feet into the air, great he can fly as well. I glared at him as he slowly descended into the sky, beckoning me to join him. I slowly began to rise to meet this challenge.

"We can see you from Sanctuary! There's two of you!?" Fuse shouted in frustration and a quizzical questioning tone at the same time.

"Yeah it's a frankly short and un-complicated story but you're about to see what no one will ever see again, I'm going to murder a super powered clone in cold blood." I said darkly as I began by rocking through my clone's body with another powerful punch, followed by a kick to the ribs before he recovered and threw a few of his own punches and kicks that all but one of missed. The one that did hit hurt a lot though, I've never realised how strong I am until I ended up kicking myself. This is going to be a painful day.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

"Shit." Gaige muttered quietly as she began to bound around her workshop after what Gen had told her. Clones? This isn't good, if they've got a clone of Gaige then they've got some serious artillery that's about to hit that outpost that Ten and Axton went to.

Gen came strutting through the door to Gaige's workshop like he owned the place.

"Get out! Oh it's you, come in and lock the door, I can't be disturbed." She said as she went back over to her gleaming steel workbench where she had some blueprints laid out.

"And I won't disturb you?" Gen asked her slightly bored with the situation. Why couldn't he ever go with the preliminary strike teams when they went to face the big threats, he'd more than proven himself in combat.

"Probably not as much as the others would, you can actually understand some of what I tell you." Gaige laughed as she tilted her head as an idea about a poultry canon popped into her head.

"Gaige I don't think they are real clones." Gen said at last after thinking on it for a long time. Gaige stopped dead in her tracks and simply looked at him for about a minute or so.

"How do you figure that?"

"From the video footage Ten's been relaying, they don't seem to be of a solid matter, they shift slightly as if they were compromised of a thick gas, I'm pretty sure that whoever is behind this is actually just another genius." Gen said before thinking about how to dissipate these shadowy demons that were about to invade.

"How could they be?" Gaige asked him suddenly.

"How could they be what?"

"Gas? Ten is physically fighting his clone and it hasn't been thinned out into the air or whatever, so surely they can't be gas?" After Gaige had shown him her explanation for it Gen suddenly realised that this had to be a supernatural cause but there was no such 'League' after them just a front or a distraction.

"Oh shit." Gen raced out of Gaige's workshop and ran as fast as he could to the headquarters.

* * *

"For a shitty clone, you're pretty good." I admitted as I was out of breathe and he was absolutely fine.

"Ten do you read me!?" Gen shouted over the ECHO, it sounded important.

"Loud and clear buddy, I'm kind of in the middle of kicking my own arse right now though."

"Yeah whatever, listen they aren't clones OK? They are NOT clones, the best I can do is speculate that they are some sort of gas given a solid form." Gen explained then it hit me, I'd been staring it straight the face the whole time, it was Mist.

I screamed at the top of my lungs in rage, rage that I'd been duped once again with such menial trickery. My own gassy clone had even dropped hints from quoting famous movie characters, I can't believe I was so blind.

"You're lucky Mist!" I shouted as I slowly grounded myself to the confusion of all of the purple clones. My own tried to continue the fight but I was far too angry to be out-done by a pale imitation. I dodged the punch that was never going to hit me then I jumped and slammed my elbow into my clone's jaw, it would have cracked it it was solid enough but instead it slammed with a sickening thud and twisted the head around the neck so far it no longer looked even remotely human. A few of the other gas clones were readying their badly formed weapons and about to fire. I formed a fireball that curled in my fingers and formed from the tips before I released the little explosive ball of death at the place where Mist's ruminations were standing. No more clones. I took off for Sanctuary at the fastest speed I'd ever managed before.

* * *

"OK, but you gotta' have a theme tune, we all do. Ten and his dog buddy have their own theme tunes, why can't we?" Mordecai asked the lads who were sitting in their own little booth inside Moxxi's bar. Axton, Salvador and Brick had joined him for a drink before Salvador and Brick went back to rounding up the bandit clans. They decided that they would review the past events and have a laugh at the same time.

"I don't see why not." Axton replied as he nodded his appreciation as Moxxi handed them two trays full of freshly brewed beer.

"OK, so what would you be?"

"Mine? I'd have to go with Money for Nothing by Dire Straits." Axton laughed as he played the chorus of the song he mentioned through his ECHO, the sheer awesomeness of the main guitar tearing away at its riff made the men all agree unanimously.

"What's your then Mordy? Probably some Clint Eastwood old western type shit." Axton whistled the Good the Bad the Ugly.

"Nah man, it's gotta be David Bowie, I can't remember the name of the song but it's the one about Major Tom." Mordecai smiled to himself at the memories he had of listening to his favourite music while on a stakeout.

"Ground control to Major Tom?" Brick asked him, believing that to be the actual title of the song.

"Nah man, it has a different titel, here 'Space Oddity' I knew it wasn't Ground Control To Major Tom." Mordecai smiled.

"Whatever man, mine's For Whom The Bell Tolls." Brick smiled with glee as he recalled the fond memories of squashing faces while that main rhythm ran through his head.

"What about you Salvador? He's going to have the most gruesome song ever-" Axton started but he never got the chance to finish because Salvador answered with so much passion that everyone almost fell over their own dropped jaws.

"MAD WORLD BY GARY JULES! IT'S SO EMOTIONAL AMIGOS! IT TOUCHES MY HEART!" He was almost weeping by the time he'd finished speaking. Just then I came crashing through the street that lead to Moxxi's bar. I ended up skidding to a harsh stop a few feet away from Moxxi's bar.

"The hell happened to you?" Mordecai asked semi amused by what he'd just seen. I had several scorch marks on my trousers and the bandages that had been keeping my wounds closed had been blasted away.

"Turns out Hyperion still have some active automated anti air missile systems installed around this planet, there's one only three miles away from Sanctuary that I'd never noticed until it shot me out of the sky." I coughed as Brick pulled me up with one arm and I sat down on the stool that Moxxi kindly put down at the table.

"What are you having hun?" She asked as she motioned towards the other guy's beers to see if there were any refills.

"Whiskey, a bottle of it please." I said as I massaged my shoulder that had taken the missile, it was mostly a reflective blast that only hit one side but it still hurt none the less. Probably only Salvador, Brick and Krieg had the constitution to take a missile without a shield. I've just realised that I've been masquerading around this whole time without a shield. I probably wouldn't get wounded as often if I'd carried a shield with me. Oh well, it's more fun this way.

"What's your theme tune? If you could have a song play every time you went into a fight what would it be?" Brick asked me.

"It was Danger Zone but I think I need something a little more hardcore.. Yeah, how about S.D.M.F by Black Label Society? Yeah that fits." I laughed jovially as Moxxi propped a full bottle of whiskey in front of me.

"Strength determination merciless forever!" I sang as I wandered out of the bar, swigging my whiskey at will, determined to get drunk before I had to fight off anymore clones or bat-shit insane vampires.

* * *

"All I'm asking is that you at least make him stay somewhere else! Sanctuary is at risk when he's here." Lilith demanded. She had both of her hand's flat against Roland's desk. Roland himself looked exhausted with directing the war effort. Astor had gone away from Sanctuary for a while to co-ordinate a covert ops mission that would help Sanctuary to get some more defenders.

"Look, it was Ten's call to bring him in on this and I trust Ten's judgement, if you don't like it then you should talk to him not me." Roland retorted from his chair that was worn and torn. To make matters worse Jace walked into the room.

"You wanted to see me Roland?" He asked as he quickly looked away from Lilith who had her arms crossed in a blatant disregard form his presence.

"That I did. Frankly I want to know how exactly you can be trusted not to stab us in the back when we're most vulnerable." Roland was being blunt, this only ever happened when he was completely drained.

"The short answer is that you don't." Jace responded without any sort of sarcasm.

"And the long answer? Come on hot shot, let's hear it." Lilith said, almost wanting him to feel challenged and provoked. There was no denying it; ever since the vault key Lilith had been looking to start a fight with anyone who would get in her way.

"The long answer is that this Order that's got you all riled up are planning on doing something to my home planet, Loboria, that's why I'm here. I put the future of my race above the interests of the Legionnaires, and to be honest, my boss is a massive bitch and when she finds out about this, let's just say that it'll be totally worth it." Jace smiled as he imagined Rose going crazy and incinerating an initiate or two.

"Do you think this is a game?" Lilith narrowed her eyes as she took a threatening step forwards.

"That depends, if you're the prize then I might just lose on purpose." Jace clearly accepted Lilith's challenge. She'd heard enough, she phased and pinned Jace against the wall.

"I don't know what you've been told Red, but you really can't beat me, so stop this now and I'll forget about this incident." Jace said calmly as Lilith tightened her grip against his throat.

"No can do furball, I'm feeling quite good about saving ourselves the trouble of handling you at a later time." Lilith smiled for the first time in a while, she was on a power trip of some kind, finally satisfied that she'd found the fight she was looking for.

"Lilith! That's enough! Let him go, now!" Roland ordered but Lilith was beyond listening.

"No! If you won't take action then I will!"

"Sorry about this Roland." Jace said before violently throwing Lilith straight at the wall on the opposite side of the room and stretching his neck causing it to click as Lilith got up again with an angry look on her face as she charged him again, this time she speared him through the thin wall and straight into the street below. Right where I was sitting. They crushed my bottle of whiskey.

"You're going to pay for that." I said casually as they kept on fighting. Lilith was powerful and fast, but not superhuman fast like Jace was, he didn't need to hit her, just dodge until she calmed down. And it would have been fine if Lilith hadn't landed a punch and added insult to injury.

She punched him across the jaw with a phased fist that sent him to his hands and knees.

"What's the matter? Did your family raise a stray?" Lilith tormented.

Jace snapped in an instant, he could always keep his cool about things apart from when the family insults were sailed his way. He quickly recovered and grabbed Lilith by the throat. "Oh I'm going to enjoy ripping your pretty little throat out." He laughed sadistically before Lilith phased her whole body out of reality and reappeared behind him with a blast that knocked him away. Another few seconds and he had transformed into his werewolf form, so much more power was within his body that it were it anyone else it would have been unfair.

By now a lot of the raiders and citizens of Sanctuary were gathered around the central courtyard and watching this seemingly harmless match, most of the Raiders knew however that unless someone intervened that it would be a fight to the death.

"Someone stop it!" Axton shouted over the roaring crowd.

"Ten!" Maya shouted from somewhere else as Jace grabbed Lilith and threw her down into the dirt, it looked like she was on her last reserves of energy.

"You've got to stop this!" Fuse was right next to me but my mind was elsewhere, I was looking at the puddle of whiskey that was once my drink. That would have been good as well. I could have gotten blind drunk and passed out for ages, or at least that was the general idea. The two sirens were pleading into my ears at this point but I'd zoned out completely, the rumble of the crowd was just ambient noise in the back ground. I slowly and casually strolled over to where Jace had Lilith held up by the throat before she lashed out a foot into his throat causing him to drop her from his death grip. This fight had gone on long enough.

"Stop." I mumbled quietly, but no one had heard me over the cheering masses in the small town centre. I looked around to see why nobody was listening and nothing had clocked as I was still in my own little zone.

"I SAID STOP!" I could barely hear myself but it had obviously worked as Jace was slowly transforming back into his human form and Lilith didn't stand up from where she had been knocked down, she just sat there looking at me, like all of the raiders were. What had I done? I couldn't even tell, maybe I was just speaking loudly. The shell shock type effect still hadn't worn off, I continued my path over to where Moxxi's was and nodded to whatever she had said. Another bottle of whiskey was put in front of me as I sat down on the stool. I could see everyone staring at me from outside the bar. I don't know what I've done but it must have been bad. I decided that this was the last place I wanted to be.

The Raiders had Sanctuary. Overlook was under Raider protection, adding that to our list of settlements. Thousand cuts and Angel's control core was under Raider control and was actively being retrofitted to become another command centre and Raider outpost. And as of this day I suppose that my city of Opportunity would now be considered Raider territory. I've left instruction on what we need to do to fortify the first three locations even more, but not my city that would be mine to defend and mine alone. I'm going home, back to my dark and secluded penthouse where anyone who tries to bother me gets a knife against their throat.

* * *

"Knock knock." Came a sarcastic call from the door. I'm weary this time, I know better, I've got my automated turret trained on the doorframe in the slightest instance of trouble. Gamma walks through the door and puts a telekinetic bubble around himself, rendering my turret useless. I decided to turn it off so that it doesn't waste bullets.

"You've come to finish me off?" I asked him slightly indifferent to everything that had happened to me over the past few weeks.

"That I am old friend, save me a spot by the bar." He says as he brutally pushed me out of the window of my penthouse. Usually I'd be fine but right now I couldn't fly, I just keep plummeting towards the ground and right before I stained the gleaming clean street below, I woke up to a knocking on the door. I grumbled uneasily as I glided down to the door to see who it was. This isn't like when I left Sanctuary after the incident with the vault key, it hasn't been a couple of months, I left Sanctuary last night. The cheeky bastards. I opened the door and standing there was five well-armed mercs in full body armour.

"The fuck?" I asked openly. I'm not sure why they just stood there, maybe because I was naked? No probably not, they probably just weren't expecting me to answer the door.

"Open fire!" One of them shouts as I slam the door and run for my guns.

"Where the fuck did I put them!?" I curse as I pick up a lamp in defence as my front door gets blown off it's hinges and the first merc comes through just to be K.O'd by a lamp. I grabbed his guns as he went down and quickly finished off the rest of them, save for the last who had just been shot once in the stomach, he'll still die but hopefully I'll get some info first.

"Right, here's how this is going to work, you tell me who sent you or I throw you through my window and down to the streets below where the cleaners will have a real tough time scraping your brains from the floor." I know how to get the relevant information when I need to.

"Guy that you don't want to mess with. Our company is the best of the best." The dying mercenary said enthusiastically.

"Clearly." I remarked as I looked around at the four dead bodies.

"Wait, fuck that I killed one of you with a lamp! He better have been a rookie or your reputation is at stake." I said carefully, trying not to give up all of my time with the merc.

"Whatever asshole, I'm not telling you squat. Alpha one reporting, status KIA, agents down, target is acquired, send in the sirens." He said into his com unit.

"Wrong answer asshole." I said as I realised that it was the order, they'd contracted a mercenary army to fight their battles. I picked up the dying guard by the chest piece and threw him through my windows that shattered outwards. He screamed like a pussy on the way down.

* * *

A body burst from the top of the penthouse of the Hyperion towers in Opportunity. Fuse and Jace were sent to try and recall Ten from his bout of depression, the Order were here and leading a strike against Sanctuary. Fortunately Gaige, Gen and Angel had laid out countermeasures to any attempts that would be made to take Sanctuary, it was too well defended. Overlook was still a civilian area with no real bargaining value for the Order and thousand cuts was still full of Bandits anyway, so they wouldn't delve into taking Angel's old control core as it hadn't been rebuilt yet. That left Opportunity where the only known threat residing there was Ten himself, this was both a blessing and a curse for the Order. Ten is extremely powerful and would not give up Opportunity while he was alive but on the advantageous side of the table there were no other defenders anywhere, he was all that was needed to take a city. If the Order's contracted mercs could take the city then they would have a stronghold on the planet's surface to work from.

"Well at least we know he's here." Jace said cheerfully as they continued to go up towards the city before a big shuttle came past and dropped a load oh highly equipped soldiers that sent out high impact mobile landing ordinances, which sounded fancy but was basically a big cube of expanding jelly that would absorb the shock of the fall and quickly dissipate and leave them free to continue their combat.

"Oh shit. They aren't on our side are they?" Fuse looked at Jace as she asked the question that she knew the answer to.

"Nope." Jace shook his head, amused to some degree as he used a weapon for the first time in a long while to dispatch these mercs as fast as they came along. I looked out of the broken window and watched the conflict that was happening at my front gate, they would eventually be overrun, even Jace wouldn't be able to handle all of them. I went to my armoury that I turned the closet into and pulled out a couple of rocket launcher, I swung one over my shoulder and fired the first one straight down at the bridge, careless as to where it landed. The second one I actually threw purely because I was curious to see if it would explode or not. It did, in a satisfying blaze of orange.

I landed with a decent impact in the bridge some distance away from where Jace and Fuse had dug in to defend themselves. When they saw me they realised that this would be an easy conflict. We killed the remaining mercs that had landed on the bridge and the shuttle didn't make another pass, instead I heard a rumble in the distance and soon we saw them; around thirty land cruisers and manned vehicles that were brought in for the sole purpose of sieging my city.

"No." I said defiantly as I used the particle crushing power that Fuel had given me in order to slowly destroy the bridge so that the vehicles would be made redundant. It took some huge effort but eventually I took down the struts and with an additional ground slam with my foot, the bridge began to crumble away at the point near where the vehicles were beginning to drive down. There was still a decent amount of bridge left so chances are they're going to try to find a way across pretty soon. I turned to Fuse and Jace.

"So… What brings you to my city?"


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

"It hasn't even been one day, why are you here? Surely the Order wasn't waiting for me to disappear before attacking?" I asked Fuse who was standing slightly shocked that I had managed to destroy a whole section of the bridge. I can't believe I'm under attack already.

Another drop shit came passed but instead of deploying a whole battalion of troops like the last time, only one mobile was dropped. Mist, this would be difficult.

She hit the landing bubble with grace before it dissipated into the air, this is going to be a really sore next few days. I remember Mist from the monastery, she is just as beautiful now as she was then, it's a shame that she's the enemy.

_There's something wrong with her._

I can tell, she's changed somehow, it's not her usual look of indifference.

_Kill her. _

No, I won't just kill her, I don't think she would do this on her own terms, the order must be controlling her.

_KILL HER!_

Fuck off.

"Ten, it's been too long." She smiled deviously as she strode forwards like she owned the place.

_She'll destroy your city._

Nobody is destroying my city today.

"Mist. If you've come to capture me, I'd rather die, if you've come to kill me, I'd strongly advise against it, IF however you've come to either join my side of the war or sleep with me, then you're in the right place." I said with a smirk as my old prowess had returned to me, even Jace cracked a smile of remembrance. He faintly muttered something about 'old times' behind me, but I was holding my stare.

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that Ten, as much as I would like to do both of the last things I can't, I'm under… Orders." She said as she tapped the side of her head.

_Mind control? That exists? If anymore of our enemies have that technology we're fucked._

Before anymore words were spoken she lazily lifted her hand causing her siren tattoos to glow bright purple, the exact same as Eridium. None of the sirens I know have normal coloured hair. Oh my god I know every siren in the universe. Mist has purple hair, Maya blue, Lilith Red, Angel silver, Fuse had an orangey hair, it was dark orange but still not delving into any sort of ginger. And then there was the last siren-

The airship made another drop where yet another woman dropped from the sky, this one didn't bother deploying any kind of landing aid, instead she just crushed the road beneath hear, arms glowing, this was the other siren.

"Tex, how good to see you." I said, knowing that she hated that name. Tex wasn't her name, I can't remember what was but for some reason she reminded me of Tex Mex burritos and the name always stuck for some other reason. This siren was no less beautiful than the others, but in close quarters she was by far the deadliest, her siren powers governed a strange telekinetic phase energy that she curled around her body against impacts, with the help of Eridium she could probably stop a train in a head on impact. Green hair, she's going to be a problem.

"Shut it creep, I'm only here to make sure you go down." She replied, angrily, she hated me ever since she first saw me flip out an kill a whole security team, bear in mind this was when we were very young.

"Jace, Fuse, go inside the city, reactivate the fast travel, Angel can help if you need, just make sure you get back to Sanctuary, it's about to be hit hard." I said as Mist raised her hand higher and Tex sat down on the edge of the broken bridge, paying barely any attention.

Within seconds there were three smoky renditions standing in front of Mist, awaiting her orders, one of them was a purple vapour clone of myself, I was right, it was Mist all along, the other two that were pulled into reality were Jace and my best enemy, Captain Alex Rose, it looks like the Order have done their homework, this is going to be very difficult.

"You remember this don't you Ten? A time when we happily served under our Captain. But she was more than that wasn't she?" My clone asked me, I'm not sure what he's getting at but he needs to be shut up once and for all.

"You wish to fight me using shoddy renditions of myself? What else? Jace? You expect a clone of Jace to defeat me? Only the real thing could ever match up to ME, and that's only on a full moon, where actually he's stronger than me but that's hardly the point! The point is that you won't defeat me with beings made out of vapour. I proved that the last time I fought these, why don't you just give up now and let me take that chip out of your heads."

Mist faltered and the images went away, instead she began faintly glowing which what was actually a thick mist of a foul looking vapour that she could send my way at any moment, that was probably he primary defence against Heat should he arise, snuff the flames, the fire goes out.

"How exactly would you take them out without killing or turning us into vegetables?" Mist asked curiously, even Tex had stood to listen to me. I smiled self lovingly, I love getting opportunities like this.

"How much do you know about me Mist?" I asked as I walked forwards, closing the distance between us.

"We know that you can fly, we know that you can turn into your little bad mood, we know that you're something unique." Tex said making me look at her as she did so.

"Then you don't know about the other 'bad mood', you don't know about my super form, you've missed a lot of vital information if you were to take me on." I laughed as Mist sent those tendrils of purple vapour wrapping round my body, seemingly constraining me.

"Then tell us Ten, exactly how do you plan on escaping this? You know my a sirens powers are unstoppable, once that last tendril reaches your mouth it's game over, you'll be rendered unconscious and we'll take you back up to the ship where you'll be locked up with magnetic particle fields, your binds will be tied to the ships engines, an unbreakable security system for someone of your legendary strength, so tell us, how exactly do you plan of beating the odds this time?" Mist asked, her tone getting more sexy and seductive the whole time, I know what she'll do if I refuse, so I'll do exactly that, I like it when she gets what she wants.

"Angel, patch me through to everyone else, I want them to see the look of surprise a siren can have when her 'unbreakable' power breaks." I said, never taking my eyes off her for one moment, she raised an eyebrow, pulling me in closer with her tendrils.

"I'll never tell you by choice siren, you'll have to do better than to threaten." I said with a challenging expression, sometimes I think I'm too good for my own good.

"Her tendrils pulled my face into hers and I felt her tongue move itself around the inside of my mouth, she was giving me a truth serum that she could make from her powers, it went into my body fast and had an immediate effect. I couldn't lie even if I wanted to.

"What is your 'other bad mood'?"

"A third element, just another embodiment, he has a knack for empathic powers, crushing particles specifically." I smiled, this wasn't just a truth serum, she'd given me some sort of affection concoction, I didn't want to be anywhere else, I'd been played, time to fight back against it, this won't be easy.

"And the super form?"

"Literally a super form, my power increases tenfold."

"And lastly, how exactly do you plan on getting away, I mean, would you leave me?" She asked, looking hurt.

_YES!_

"No." I answered lovingly as the vapours retracted and I was set on my own two feet.

"Always the temptress." Tex laughed as Mist signalled the drop ship.

_If you don't stop this madness, I will, let me out right now!_

"Wait a minute." I said, suddenly able to combat whatever she'd done to me. She noticed and pulled my leather vest down and brutally gave me twice the amount of stuff she had before.

_I'll force my way out then._

"No!" I said, clutching my head, a knee on the ground, he was emerging and he was angry, this was it, this was the moment he'd been waiting for, his bloodlust silently building up.

Tex took no second look before giving me a brutal uppercut with that kinetic build-up sending me flying overhead.

"He shouldn't be able to do that." Mist frowned as she sent a cloud of that vapour forwards, making me disappear from view. I kept Heat supressed but he'd opened my eyes to what was going on, he'd burned through the poison clouding my mind. I turned up my power, screaming against the pain which my super form brought on, but it was finally done, I had those trademark cracks of electricity following me around, a sign of my sheer power.

I walked out of the cloud absolutely fine but pissed off, Tex came in for yet another swing but instantly I manoeuvred out of her path and snapped my palm at the side of her neck, tackling into a nerve cluster that sent her sprawling into the ground, unconscious before she even hit it.

Mist growled viciously as she rendered up the previous three clones, myself, Jace and Rose, which were supposedly the same power as their real life models. Jace's clone wouldn't be a problem, nor would mine so long as I was in my super form.

My clone was the first to strike, while Jace's transformed in the background and the clone of Rose just stood there, arms crossed seemingly waiting for me to dispatch of the other two.

MY clone striked out with a punch that landed straight on my face and was stunned for a few seconds as it had absolutely no effect on me whatsoever, I spun my leg out and snapped the vapours forming the clone in two, causing it to drift into the air and disperse.

Jace's werewolf form charged at me, regardless of power, sharp claws could still be a problem, I dodged a few of his first few striked before getting around his back and slamming him into the ground by the throat before I stood up and snapped it's neck with my foot. Easy pickings for the super form.

Rose rushed me faster than anything I've ever seen but still she wasn't powerful enough for me, I took her by the throat and stretched her from head to body before I abruptly shot my hands form one side to the other and broke her neck in one violent movement.

_'But she was more than that, wasn't she?' Remember those words when you face off against Rose, you'll need them._

I closed the distance between myself and Mist and done exactly what I'd done to Tex causing her to fall into my arms.

"Shame, you're a great kisser." I said as I watched her eyes close slowly before she fell into unconsciousness. I laid her down next to Tex. I'm not letting Zed near these two, the procedure to remove their mind control chips will be too risky, I'll have to destroy them from the inside. I had all of my focus on finding their chips before destroying them via particle crushing, I had to be careful in case I started eroding their brains instead, that wouldn't be good.

It was done.

"Someone, anyone, come and transport these two, they're no longer hostiles, I repeat, NO LONGER HOSTILES, they were under control from the Order, they should however be kept in some kind of constraint until I can talk to them. Roland, I'm coming to you." I said over the ECHO on the Raider's open frequency. Angel had set that up so that anything said on that channel would be broadcast to everyone, and really only used when it was important. This registered as important.

Soon Brick and Axton appeared at my city gates and I picked up Mist and Tex and gently flew over to where they were fast approaching me.

"What kind of constraint should we use with two sirens?" Axton asked, unsure that Sanctuary even had such security measures. I'm not sure if it has or not, Sanctuary has gotten a lot bigger since Handsome Jack and the vault key.

"I'm not sure but these two are the least of my problems at the moment. I've still got fully armoured soldiers trying to siege my city and a vampire who has set out a vendetta for myself and my best friend. Things around here are about to get very interesting." I told them as I turned around to see that all of the siege vehicles would soon have a way across, a bridge was being built. Crap. That means that I don't have much time.

"Here, I thought you might need these, Gaige tinkered with them a little bit, she said don't fire them with anyone near you though, and only fire one at a time with both hands." Axton said as he handed me my holster with the Jackal and the Howitzer in them. Brick stepped back with both Sirens held firmly in an arm each, it actually looked comfortable but Axton hadn't stepped back, he was clearly waiting for a reaction.

"Really, why?" I asked as I immediately placed a shot in the bridge building truck, an anti-tank round exploded from my gun at Mach 12 speeds. Throwing both me and Axton five feet into the air and onto the ground. The round hit the bridge and the four vehicles immediately near it all exploded into the air as my round continued to travel into orbit.

"THAT'S WHY ASSHOLE! God, my ears are bleeding. They fire anti-tank rounds at Mach twelve!" He shouted into my ear and I only just heard what he was saying.

"Gaige!?" I opened up my ECHO.

"Yeah? I heard that from here! Whoo!" She shouted over the ECHO in response.

"I love you." I responded as I looked at the Jackal, fearful for what it might be able to do.

"Well, when you get back here, maybe you can show me your appreciation in person." She said flirtily. Wow, you're on Gaige.

"You're god damn right I will." I responded before shutting off my ECHO.

_What about Gen? Aren't they romantically involved? _

Maybe not, a lot may have changed in the two months that I went missing.

"Axton, stay here and wait for someone else to come along, I'm going to take care of those guys, that should ensure that nothing else happens before I get back I said as I sent a message to Salvador, Zero and Mordecai asking them to get the fast travel to Opportunity and help Axton defend.

"Why? Where are you going?" He asked me suspiciously as he already started planning out where he would set up his temporary defences.

"First for a chat with Roland and secondly to get licked, both by alcohol from Moxxi and in a different manor by Gaige, assuming that she's not still dating Gen." I smirked as I gently hovered above ground, checking my guns while I waited for him to respond.

"Eh, no one really knows, they might be, just be careful, she's old enough to be your daughter." Axton laughed as he sat on a boulder that had been knocked out of the ground by my guns. That caught my attention.

"How old is she?"

"Eighteen."

"How old do you think I am?"

"Hmm, maybe thirty odd?"

"I'm twenty four Axton." I replied wide eyed, battle must really have taken its toll on me which isn't surprising really when you think about it, my life is full of combat. The earliest I can remember I was with the Order on Maya's home planet before we both ran away and got arrested for being fugitives, that was when we were brought to Pandora, to be incarcerated in the 'High School for the Certifiably Insane'. Insane, we were only labelled as insane because Maya was a siren and I was always different, but beings of power were practically non-existent and people thought we'd do the least amount of damage locked up in the Looney bin. After we all escaped Jack's prison and defeated the genie I joined up with the messengers and things go fuzzy from there before I remember coming to Pandora almost a year ago now.

"Really? Wow, go wild then." He laughed as he checked his gun and waited for the fireworks to begin. I flew over to where the bridge had been crumbled to nothing but dust under the pressure of my empathic prowess. I stood against the oncoming force and braced as I mercilessly fired both of my guns into the enemy. All in all I fired twelve rounds of anti-tank bullets at Mach twelve speeds. The enemy and most of the surrounding mountains had been obliterated completely. I wonder how well the order's ship would stand up against these two babies, god they must have been more powerful than some of Hyperion's super cannons, and for some reason I had been entrusted with two of them, oh well, off to Sanctuary for a relaxation session.

* * *

I'd ditched the shoulder holsters and gone back to the classic thigh holsters where my guns looked the coolest. The first thing I noticed when I was back in Sanctuary was how bright it was, I wasn't wearing my goggles but that's not the point, Angel and Gaige had successfully gotten the shields up. In the distance you could see the Order's ship staying at a safe distance from Gaige's defence turrets. The ship was slowly circling Sanctuary, they had the same technology that Sanctuary's engine used, an on-going fuel that recycled itself, which in essence made it infinite.

"First things first, see Roland." I said out loud to myself. I wonder what else has changed in the one night that I haven't been here. I suppose most of the work would just have been preparation and the final result was instant, which is why Sanctuary seemed like such an alien place right now, not to mention that it looked even bigger.

Roland's office was right around the corner but he and Lilith were already coming down hallway laughing with each other, until they saw me standing there, looking like a badass.

"Ten, what's up?" He said light heartedly.

"Well, apart from my city being sieged and apart from what I assume you saw earlier from my video feed, all is going reasonably well. Sanctuary's defences are amazing. The next problem for us is where to keep the two sirens that I've saved. They were under order control but no longer, they do need to be kept in a prison cell until I can talk to them though. Hmm what else, oh yeah, I've figured out that vampire by the name of Jacqueline is actually on orders from the Legionnaires which isn't good, but apart from all of that, everything's astounding, so fi you'll excuse me, I'm off to get drunk and hopefully laid before I have to return to defend my home, see you guys later." I said as I walked through the hallway of the top floor and jumped from the balcony over to Moxxi's front door. Gaige was sitting inside talking to Moxxi, oh dear, that's either really good or really bad.

"A shot of rum please darling." I said as I sat down next to Gaige.

"Make it two." She said. Moxxi looked at the alcohol behind the bar.

"Which rum do you want?" Moxxi asked us.

Gaige frowned, "There's more than one?"

"I want Captain Morgan's, you'd better give her some white rum though." I said, hoping that Gaige wouldn't get too drunk trying to out drink me.

"Sure thing coming up. Ten, you want to double up?" Moxxi asked as she poured three drinks out, two were black and one was white with ice in it.

"Do it. You in?" I asked her, I didn't even need to ask, it was late enough as it was in Sanctuary, the opposite side of the plane to Opportunity where I'd woken up only an hour before.

"Of course." Moxxi looked around, everyone who wasn't with the raiders had to leave at a certain time because Moxxi liked to party with the right people. She lead us over to one of the high booths at the back with a tray of different shots and cocktails. Presumably this was her way of challenging us. I sat opposite Moxxi and Gaige sat an equal distance away from us, forming a drinking triangle.

"Rum first, on three."

"Three, two, one." We all downed our drinks and pretty soon the whole tray had been finished, we were all considerably drunk.

"Well, I've got to close up and get back to Mordecai who should be home right about now." She barely slushed her words, truly a professional drinker.

"Yeah, I should get back to defending my home, the others shouldn't have faced any resistance but you never know." I said as I stood up.

"Wait, I've got something to show you." Gaige said excitedly as she took my hand and lead me out of Moxxi's at an alarming rate considering the amount we'd drunk.

"Well, I guess I'll see you another time Moxxi." I laughed out to her as I lost track of where I was. Gaige's workshop? I closed my eyes and when I opened them I was somewhere else. A bedroom? I thought we were inside Gaige's workshop. I looked out the open door and saw that this was a room inside Gaige's workshop. I closed and opened my eyes again and Gaige was standing inches away from me, undoing her clothes and pulled me forwards towards the bed. Why does this always happen when I'm in a bad state of mind?


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

**I'm taking a slightly different angle with writing this story as of now, it's more or less going to be done, entirely in the third person, because I prefer that style of writing, if it doesn't work then I'll just revert back, simple, enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

Ten woke up to the sound of a camera shutter clicking against its bearing, someone near his immediate vicinity had just taken a photo. He had to remember his surrounding, what had happened last night? He was in a strange room, and no one was anywhere near him. One door, one big bed, the sheets were ruffled and torn, there was a camera on the wall.

"Ah, shit." He said to himself, careless as to who saw him disrobe and walk over to the door, completely naked. The door lead out to Gaige's workshop and he immediately remembered what had happened. Himself, Gaige and Moxxi had drunk a lot of alcohol, then Gaige had led him straight here. He couldn't actually remember if they'd had sex or not, but it was more than likely. He backtracked to when Gaige was taking his clothes off, as it happened, his trousers and holsters had been pushed over an inactive Death-trap unit.

"Ah, double shit." He muttered as he put his trousers on and strapped his holsters tight, still looking for his boots. He found one hanging on the open workshop door, that wasn't good.

"Hey, ugh, has anyone seen my other boot? I kind of lost it." Ten asked over the Raider's open channel.

"It's currently swinging by the laces over one of the 'X's in my sign." Moxxi replied after a few minutes of radio silence.

"Ah, triple shit." Ten said to himself as he realised that if Moxxi didn't already know, then she'd ask the questions that he couldn't get away with lying in.

* * *

"So, big boy, what happened last night after Gaige pulled you away from the bar?" Moxxi asked sexily as Ten pulled his remaining boot free off Moxxi's pub sign and shook it free of sand and probably some scorpions before putting it on.

"Everything that you'd expect, and I immediately regret it. I really have to go though Moxxi, I've got a city to defend."

"Roland and Jace are meeting in five minutes, you might want to hear them out." Moxxi called back as Ten gently lifted his feet above the ground and navigated above the buildings, he spotted something unusual, Mordecai was set up on one of the buildings looking through a sniper scope at something outside of the shield, but he thought nothing of it so he continued over towards where Roland was likely to be.

* * *

Ten landed inside the balcony of the second floor of the Raider's headquarters which housed the war console, it always had and no changes were needed, of course Angel made some upgrades but none of them argued when she suggested it.

Inside the war room, Roland and Jace were arguing about something or other, probably the offensive against the Order. This had better be quick, Ten thought, because he had to get back to defend his own city, he'd asked Axton, Salvador and Zero to defend until he got back, but that was last night, or because of the planet zone shift it was last night, so actually it was only about half a day, the same amount of time had passed in reality but over there, things were only just beginning to get dark. He also had to talk to the sirens who were currently incarcerated at Ten's request.

"What's going on here?" He asked as he walked through the door the same time as Astor had.

"I want to lead a small strike team on board their ship, clear it out, he thinks that some of their personnel might be better off alive." Jace whined impatiently as a holographic image of the ship appeared over the war console.

"Why can't we blow it up? I know we can physically, why won't you let us?" Ten asked Roland.

"Look at that thing, if we get our hands on it, we'll be set to defend against the Legionnaires, who I'm told have massed even more numbers in their vendetta against you."

"I suppose you're right. Jace is right about the personnel though, I've recovered the last remaining sirens, there's no more VIPs to worry about, let either Brick or Jace lead a strike team, preferably brick because he can also land that ship in thousand cuts slash Control Core Angel where his slabs can retrofit that bastard to our needs." Ten said, stroking his chin, remembering that transforming into Heat had burned his magnificent beard away. He still had the dreadlocks though, that alone comforted him.

"Brick it is. Don't look glum though Jace, you'll go with him. Go find Brick in thousand cuts, he'll probably be relieved to get some support from you as Salvador was pulled over to Opportunity before he could return to Thousand Cuts. Once you help him with whatever it is he's asked you, give him this file, he can have three more members, that's all, no more. He'll get you aboard the Order's ship once we get their shields down." Roland explained his on-going plan. Some of the raiders had been turned into group leaders, specialists in their given field, everyone would have an assignment but they were free to choose who their teams were. Currently the only teams prepping for missions were Brick's strike team and Angel's surveillance team, which was her and Gaige working to find a way to bring down the ships shield, alongside Mordecai and Gen who were active recon, which explained why Ten say Mordecai on a building rooftop, he was looking for weak spots.

"I bet I can get that shield down." Ten said with a faint smirk, he really had no idea how to get it down, but he thought about flying into it really fast might work. No sense in not trying.

"By all means, try it Ten." Angel interrupted over the ECHO, Ten forgot that she had the ability to monitor everyone's frequencies despite them being private channels, locked devices and what not. Oh the perks of being a siren with technology based power. Ten walked over to the balcony and slipped through the shield. As it happened the shield was designed to allow things through them form Sanctuary's side but not to get in from the outside, convenient for someone like Ten, except for the fact that the Order's ship seemed to have the same technology and had their guns start firing on Ten before he even got to a respectable distance. He had each gun in each hand and shooting down missiles as they each left the shield, hoping that if he shot one down close enough to the shield, that the explosion might be enough to disrupt it long enough to fly in and kill everyone, or at least take the shield down.

No missiles took the shield down but he kept flying none the less, a massive collision happened when he smacked straight into it, the shield itself hadn't budge but he'd made a crack before it slowly began to repair itself, he could do this eventually, but right now wasn't the time for that, he had to get back to Opportunity.

* * *

The place was a mess, war torn but as of yet, none of the Order's forces had reached Ten's shining city. Landed behind a large piece of overturned rock that Axton as using as cover.

"You look like shit. Go on guys get inside the city and go and find a bar or something. You too Sal. And Zero's around here somewhere right? You should get some rest as well. When you're ready to turn in, go to my towers and request floor two hundred and forty nine. It's the penthouse below mine, five different penthouses on that floor, pick one and sleep in it. Thanks for the assistance lads, I'll see to it that these asshats don't get into my city today." Ten said as he opened fire with the Jackal, now used to the unimaginable recoil his guns produced, he barely moved against the shockwaves as he struck down whole teams with every shot.

"It was quiet all day, they've only just started attacking but there's so many of them. What's new on your front?" Axton asked as he sat against the rock, no longer worrying about the threat behind him.

"Nothing new really. I still have to talk to someone about this vampire problem, Jack is still out there somewhere…" Ten stopped short as he saw a female figure standing alone on the other end of the bridge, blood red hair draped over her shoulders. Even from this distance he could see the red glint in her eyes.

"Oh you have got to be shitting me. Every single time I mention an enemy they always appear, AT THE WORST OF TIMES!" Ten complained as he put his gun away and sulked down the entire length of the bridge as no doubt Jack was here to gain something through words before more violence was issued. At this point everyone else had stalked off into the city in search of somewhere to give them alcohol.

Standing on either side of the gaping section of the bridge, they stared each other down.

"The handsome one." She said as last, her voice travelling the distance easily.

"Were you working for the Order the whole time?" Ten replied, eager to know exactly who had pit her against them.

"I had my own faction remember? You managed to kill them all. You and your furry pal managed to KILL nearly fifty immortals, leaving little old me alone to survive. I'm not working with the Order at all, in case you haven't noticed, they've all retreated, or what's left of them anyway." She grinned.

"So what exactly are you doing in their place? Are you hoping to siege my city as well?" Ten's finger itched against the flat of his gun, resisting the temptation to see how well Jack could resist against a Mach twelve round to the face.

"I'm a very curious animal at the best of times. I had no doubts as to what or who could create this much destruction or death, I just wanted to know whether it was your or your fiery persona." Jack moaned slightly, running a hand down the vast opening in the front of her tight black top. It was initially a tear that Jace had made, but one that she seemed to have turned into a very seductive fashion item. It outlined the sides of her breasts and Ten found himself struggling to focus when she ran her finger down the side of the opening.

"It took me a long time to heal those burns you know, it wasn't a very nice things to do. Can he hear me?" Jack asked even more seductively that Moxxi could muster. Ten thought that it must have been one of those vampire things, then he remembered that he couldn't seem to resist people with power, and Jack was nearly as fast and tough as he was. Inside Ten's mind Heat grunted with distaste; he remembered this one.

"Yes, but you'd probably be grateful that you can't hear the stream of expletives erupting form him right now." Ten answered back, carefully eyeing her and keeping his hand over his weapon. At the slightest movement he would make her explode from an anti-tank round. She started running her tongue over one of her elongated teeth, which was actually sexy in her own way.

"Why don't we talk on more equal ground?" She asked form across the bridge.

"What do you suggest?"

"Your penthouse suit up there, a few drinks, that's not a problem for someone like you surely?" Ten took a good few moments to analyse her proposal, he still didn't know what exactly she wanted, so for all intents and purposes she could just be on another assassination attempt.

"Fine, I've got a few questions of my own. Come on." Ten outstretched his hand to her across the gap, he knew full well she could get across without any extra help. In one swift yet grace movement she had strapped her arms around his neck, holding on for what she assumed would be him flying to the top of the tower. He held his arm around her waist as he lifted off.

"I warn you, if you intend to bite me while I appear vulnerable in mid-flight, I'll crash straight into a mountain and break your neck instantly." Ten laughed jovially as he increased his speed immensely. It took Ten a mere ten seconds to get from the end of the broken bridge, to the roof of his penthouse. Good time when you consider that the distance is about a mile from the Highlands to the city gate.

* * *

Jack was sitting across Ten's couch, her shoes by the door, her tight black trousers stopped at the ankle. He wondered what it would be like to be turned into a vampire, whether or not his powers would get stronger or he'd become weaker.

"So what exactly are you?" Ten sat down next to Jack, looking out over the sunset. He had a half empty bottle of rum and Jack had a pretty full glass of whiskey on the rocks, the third full glass.

"I told you, for all intents and purposes I'm a vampire." She answered seriously. She lifted her legs up and put them over Ten's lap. Was he being seduced by a vampire? It suddenly occurred to him that the only times he'd gotten laid on this planet were form when the females had given him copious amounts of alcohol.

"Is it in your ability to turn someone?" Ten asked, refusing to look at her as he asked her. She looked at him for a moment before getting on top of him, glasses and bottle aside, she exposed Ten's neck and breathed heavily against it.

"Why? Is that why you brought me up here? Because you want me to give you eternal life?" She asked as she stalked one of her fangs over his skin, barely cutting it by a tiny amount.

"No, I'm just curious about two different cases. I get that you can turn regular people, humans. But I'd not regular, I think my body would fight against it and win. Then there's Jace, what would happen in his case?" Ten asked, pulling Jack away from his neck.

"Half human, half Lycan right? I'm not sure." Jack tilted her head as she thought about it, then Ten noticed that she had straddled him and was rotating her hips on his lap. He'd been duped into it again, but whilst he knew this was exactly what she was trying to do, he wasn't about to argue.

"Would he be a vampire when human then a lycan when he changes or something similar or would he fight against it because of his DNA?" Ten asked, placing his hands on her hinds subtly moving them up her sides.

"I.. I don't know, my mind is else-where right now." She placed her hands against Ten's chest and followed his movements.

"Sharing is caring." Jack bit her lip and tried to get up, but instead Ten's whole body rose off the ground and moments later they were on the second floor, on the bed.

* * *

Zero had decided that he'd had enough of Opportunity and left Axton and Salvador's search for alcohol in favour of the familiar city of Sanctuary. He'd turned invisible before even walking through the fast travel, he just preferred it that way. He liked to be able to overview things with a silent eye and for the most part he was able to, except for when it came to Angel, she didn't have to be able to see through his suit's cloaking tech because she could sense him nearly all the time and if she wanted to speak to him she would just de-cloak him at her own will. Which he hated, he had to find some way to get her to stop doing that.

He walked through the streets and nobody was any wiser to his presence, he liked that, the silent protector of the city. But he could tell that even now Angel was watching him over the cameras of the city streets or something similar, she even had his ECHO network on a fast line.

The problems that Angel and Zero were facing were down to awkwardness. They'd connected with each other after stealing the vault key and coming to Sanctuary and once Handsome Jack had face his downfall they'd been revealed to have had a whole past love relationship and for them that was where things got weird. Ten went missing and everyone was in a frantic fray over what would happen next and Angel and Zero never spoke about where they were with each other, everyone else on the other hand just assumed that they were a thing, but between the two of them, Zero tried his hardest not to be near her and Angel tried her hardest to bring them together. No doubt she would bring him in whenever she was allowed a team but this time he was saved after having been asked by Ten to defend Opportunity for a little while.

Now that Zero had returned he was exhausted, he decided that the best thing to do at that point was to go to his room which had impenetrable security, he liked to be alone and meditate with his mask off because it gave him a sense of vulnerability and he liked feeling that every once in a while because now that Hyperion were almost completely disbanded, he needed to find some way to feel the danger in his life, and he regarded his identity to be above everything else in value. Only Angel had ever seen his face in the past and he intended to keep it that way, it was just that with his emotions and feelings for Angel swarming back to him in such a way that displeased him, he knew that it would only be a matter of time before Angel saw his face again, that was when the knock at the door came.

"Zero, we need to talk this through, let me in." It was Angel. Zero played a small sentence that he had constructed using advanced technology, it was Ten's voice but a little bit deeper and more childish.

"We're busy in here, go away you're mean. Butthead." It said, Zero smiled to himself inside the mask, there's no way she'd fall for that but it still amused him to seemingly no end.

"Zero, I know that's a recording, I'm not sure what you bribed him with to do it but he's in Opportunity doing something that should be considered fraternization." Angel said dully. Fraternization? That caught Zero's attention. He'd unlocked the door and pulled Angel inside before anyone could see.

"Fraternization?" There was a complimentary question mark on his mask.

"Look, he's with that Vampire girl that attacked him, I don't really want to relay what I saw, it will haunt me for life and I'll take it to the grave with me." Angel spoke in such a shaken way and actually looked like she'd gone through an extremely traumatic experience. It was probably just because of how different Ten and herself were; really, they were practically polar opposites. Angel was the innocent and sweet siren that wore her name like a well-earned title and then there was Ten… Who is Ten…

"Zero, what's been happening between us since facing the warrior needs to stop, you've been creeping away from me for too long. You need to face the fact that we're something good together, now you're going to make a decision, you're either going to tell me that we're going to work this out and get back together or that we're not going to work it out and just go about or lives normally." Angel stood with one hand on her hip, very impatiently, her sudden force of conversation and aggressive manor had shocked Zero completely.

"I'll give you an answer in twenty four hours." He said as he unlocked the door and left as fast as he could, he needed advice with this, he needed Mordecai, he'd been through the same if not worse. Actually, Mordecai had been through worse, Moxxi had dumped him for Handsome Jack on two counts now. He'd know what Zero was feeling.

* * *

Jace didn't know what to do, he was perched on a rock in the highlands. On the one hand he'd been given a gateway into stopping a plan that involved the ravaging of his home planet but on the other he had strict order from the Legionnaires to capture or kill Ten at any chance he got. He wasn't going to do the latter until he knew for certain that Loboria was safe from those Order maniacs. Then again he wasn't entirely sure he COULD kill Ten, he'd become far too strong and fast, sure he could capture him using superior tactics but he might just be too difficult for Jace to put down for good. Then Jace remembered that he still had a vampire to track down, though he knew that she wasn't with the Legionnaires and she wasn't with the order, she had her own brotherhood that had been cut down before her and while she was a very good match, she was on her own and when he had time to hunt her he would. He looked up at the full moon, beautifully moving across the highlands, he couldn't help but howl in ear shattering volumes, he heard a few faint returning howls from the various wolves that must have been moving around the base of the mountains. It was going to be an interesting next few weeks for everyone.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

**People liked it better in the first person, so I changed it back into first person, enjoy :)**

* * *

"Lilith, come on." Maya whispered back. She was leading an all siren assault on me, basically, she'd thought that if she ambushed him he'd have to give her answers. To the best of her knowledge, he'd gone back to Opportunity for the day then come back to Sanctuary to talk to the sirens he recovered on the bridge, which was where he was now, alone with the sirens, making some sort of risk assessment. They were being held in one of the underground vaults that Gaige had built, used to contain things like me, they also now served as temporary prisons for sirens.

I had his back against the door, Maya knew that she had one chance for this to work properly. She rushed in while I was mid-sentence, both of the sirens had been freed at this point and were obviously no threat to me or the rest of Sanctuary. Angel locked the door and Maya put me in a translucent phase bubble. Barely keeping my massive amounts of energy contained, it really REALLY hurt.

"Don't worry, they do this a couple of times a week." Lilith reassured both Mist and Tex that they were on the same side and that this wasn't a malicious attack. I hung weakly inside the bubble.

"You really shouldn't do that right now." Mist warned but war more fascinated by her sudden realisation that they were all sirens. She was in a room with every siren in the universe.

"Why the hell not? He needs to answer some questions, like for instance, WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO YOU AFTER THE VAULT KEY!?" Maya demanded. I strained inside the bubble as she upped the pain, then she noticed the two bite marks on my neck start to drip blood, she dropped the bubble instantly letting me land on his own feet.

"Oh my god, the vampire did that to you?" Lilith asked, suddenly worried for my life, which is something that she'd never ever done before and vowed to never be caught doing again.

"I don't want to talk about it." I said weakly, even my eyes looked bruised.

"I saw the video of you fighting these two, now if they're on our side now, they'll do whatever the hell I tell them to. So if I strap you into that chair in that cell and make the purple headed one give you a double dose of truth serum, you'll be inclined to tell me whatever I goddamn want." Maya said furiously. I had no idea what I'd done to get her so angry.

"Do it." Maya said as three of them tied me to the chair that I made look tiny, I still had rags of a shirt on, that didn't even look like they belonged to me. Mist walked over reluctantly and kissed me half-heartedly, which was kind of disappointing, she slid her tongue into my mouth, her tongue that was now coated with a truth serum strong enough to make a psychopath weep.

"First question, who gave you those bite marks?" Lilith asked, leading the investigation.

"Jacqueline, that hot redhead vampire chick that me and Jace fought in the Torgue arena." I answered, still straining, though this time I was straining against a mixture of my bonds and the serum.

"How exactly did she give you the marks?" Maya was more than aggravated at this point. I hesitated slightly. Mist confused this with a sign of me resisting the poison and gave another dose.

"Amazing sex Maya, we drank then we had sex which was so good that she bit down on my neck, hard. No complaints though, I'm kinda' into that sort of thing, nothing serious just a little bite of nail scratch here and there." I smirked, even under a truth serum I had managed to make myself look like a god amongst men.

"So, you're now going to die because you're good in the sac?" Fuse was very amused by the whole situation I had come to find myself in.

"No, fortunately my body is naturally fighting the toxins off but it does mean that I'll become weak to the point where it'll be difficult to stand for another couple of days. SO, it looks like I'll be standing down but we've now got one of the most formidable fighting forces ever, all six sirens." I laughed weakly, the phaselock had taken nearly all of my strength away. I could feel the vampire toxin work harshly beneath my skin, running it's course throughout my veins.

"But yes, I am indeed good in the sac. What other questions do you have for me? Not that I didn't enjoy the kisses, but your truth serum isn't helping my immune system in any way so I'd rather not have to be administered another dose." I let my head fall as he began to sweat horribly. They knew they'd have little time before I'd have to be taken to doctor Zed. Maya had some skill when it came down to healing but that was mainly used for the battlefield, so she could only extend their time by another fifth-teen minutes.

"I've got a question, how many women have you had sex with on this planet?" Lilith asked in a very neutral tone. I knew there was going to be a wrong answer to that question but I didn't have a choice, even I'm susceptible to the truth serum. I'd wager that only Jace's immune system would be able to dose it out.

"Ouch. In no particular order. Lilith, Maya, Fuse, Gaige, that vampire chick and an Irish whore." I laughed at the memory of the last one, good old Lucy Zafford, she was a feisty one, maybe I'll give her a call when I'm free.

'Hey Lucy it's Ten, that guy that you father chased four miles through the highlands before he could remember he could fly? Anyway wanna have a drink together? I'm living in a penthouse in Opportunity' Yeah, I'd definitely get laid.

"Wait, an Irish whore? Is that where you went when we crashed the wake?" Maya was suddenly amused to some degree but still pretended to be angry.

"Hey, I saw an opportunity, and she wasn't a whore by any means, I'm pretty sure she was actually Mick Zafford's daughter."

"Typical." Maya muttered then wondered off.

"Typical? Maya she'd just lost a freakish leprechaun brother and a bunch of vault hunters had crashed her brothers wake, I had to comfort the poor girl somehow, which started out as innocent drinking, but how the hell am I going to keep up with a Zafford? They drink whiskey like it's tap water, so that one really wasn't my fault." I said. The funny part was that I was still under the effects of the truth serum and would be for quite some time but at that same time I could feel my strength returning to me, I was starting to form a resistance against it and before long I might even be resistant altogether.

"That's probably the most noble thing you've ever done." Maya was so angry she was calm.

"I killed a starving skagg before, I stopped it from starving and gave it a quick death, does that not count as noble?"

"You're an idiot." The banter between Maya and myself was so amusing that nobody else stepped in.

"Blame it on the beautiful siren that keeps playing tonsil tennis with me." Even under truth serum I am no coward, I loved to provoke absolutely everyone, it was one of my favourite past-times.

"What of the other sirens?" Tex asked, speaking up for the first time in the conversation.

"You want to know what I think off the sirens as individuals or a group?" I craned my neck as far as it would go, I only just managed to see the slender yet toned physique of the green haired beauty standing behind me.

"Individuals." Angel blurted out before slapping a hand across her mouth.

"Alright, I'll start from behind and work my way forwards. Tex, you're no less attractive, but damn girl sometimes you scare the shit out of me. A woman wielding the power to control kinetic flow, even that sentence is scary." I shifted slightly when I thought I heard her hand go brazen with energy.

"What about me hunny? Surely I'm your favourite?" Mist asked, putting her mouth around mine, it tasted somewhat different this time, some sort of love potion?

"Love, your truth serum might work but your affection toxins wont, you're still beautiful which is annoying. Your powers don't scare me, they just annoy me, for instance if it wasn't for you, I'd probably be in my penthouse right now having amazing sex again. But not, I'm surrounded by six sexy sirens, bound to a chair answering your questions about meaningless- HAREM!" I bolted up right then looked from face to face to find some sort of agreement. A harem with all six sirens of the universe; I would be the alpha male of everything ever known to creation.

"We are NEVER having a harem with you." Lilith said bluntly.

"Why? Because I can handle all six of you at once." There was a very awkward tension in the air when they all realised that I still couldn't possibly lie to them.

"Moving on then, I get it you don't want a harem. Maya, dear Maya, my blue headed friend. You've become quite a pain in the ass lately, always trying to ask me stuff instead of actually letting me go about my business. Your powers piss me off the most, always incarcerating me with random intentions." She could tell from the distinct glint in my eye that I was hiding something, that no amount of Mist's tongue in throat truth poison would get me to spill the beans on what I'd hidden deep down.

"Lilith… You're a total bitch sometimes, and even though I hide it with expert efficiency I do actually like you, that may be down to the fact that we've had sex, I can't tell for certain right now, come back to me on that one." I was laughing inside, the truth was out but it was nothing to be ashamed of.

"Fuse, where do I start with you? The most beautiful off all the sirens, with your shaven hair and pony tail, curvy figure and all that. Your powers are awesome, super heating stuff? That makes you the hot stuff." I winked as I looked over her shoulder at the last remaining Siren.

"Angel. That name would suit no one else better. Sometimes I think you're too innocent for your own good, but that's beside the point. I hope you and Zero sort your relationship problems out." I finished before returning to Maya.

"Are we done here? Because any moment I'll break free of these ropes and go crazy for the next few hours." I said, and that was true as well. I was experiencing the pre buzz to another bout of insanity that I've been getting since touching the vault key.

"One last question. What happened from the time you touched the vault key to now, in regards to our old lives in the high school?" She asked plainly. This was what she had wanted to ask him the whole time.

"Let me ask you a question first." I said as I broke free of the ropes and kissed Maya, hoping that the truth serum was still there. She looked a little shaken as if it was having an active effect.

"What do you want from me?" I asked her seriously, towering over all of them.

"You have about thirty seconds before that wears off." Mist pointed out from behind me. I nodded silently as I waited for an answer.

"I want thigns to go back to the way they were before all of this, I want things to be like the high school." Maya said her eyes trained on the floor.

"Yeah? Well Axton's available and waiting for you. We're done here, my mind is starting to burn." I said as I walked towards the door, parts of my body actually began to flare up and become a light, it was Heat trying to escape and taste freedom, but I'd keep him suppressed for a long time yet.

* * *

"So you're telling me that Angel forced you into a corner and demanded an answer? Wow, man that's rough, what are you gonna' do?" Mordecai asked unhelpfully. Both he and Zero were on top of the buildings of Sanctuary where Mordecai was scoping out the Order's ship slowly circling Sanctuary in the distance. Zero was just standing there talking to Mordecai, trying to get some advice.

"That's what I came here for." Zero replied, slightly aggravated at the situation.

"Oh right, well ugh, I'd say that you should just do it and get back together, I mean in the end we're probably going to have to kill Ten and there's going to end up being some kind of civil war about it." Mordecai said as plain as day.

"What the hell?" Zero was shocked at what he'd just heard.

"What? Don't you play video games? That always happens when there's someone like Ten and someone else like Roland. The leader of the resistance against the super power. The only questions that arise are who's going to be strong enough to put him down for good, most likely one of the sirens."

"And the other question?"

"Who's side with you be on?" Mordecai stood and let himself off the building, he then went over to Moxxi's to get smashed before she inevitably nursed him back to health, most likely in an actual nurses outfit. Zero stood alone, completely stunned at what he'd just experienced. The thing that unsettled him the most was that he completely agreed, they were lucky that when Lilith and Jace had fought he'd remained completely neutral, broke up the fight before anyone got hurt then disappeared. Zero realised that soon there would be a time when Ten would have to pick a side, that would be when the civil war would arise. How would anyone beat Ten? To Zero he was a freak of nature, NO not even nature would accept Ten, he was something else. A man so consumed by rage that it manifested itself into a fiery demon. Zero knew that he would never want to face against Ten but if he had to, then he would. Now his only problem was how to approach Angel, he really didn't want to patch things up because he was stubborn, but soon there would be a situation where he couldn't just ignore it. And that was when things got screwed up for Zero, he looked out past the shield and saw that this ship was heading straight for Sanctuary, not slowing down, most of that ship would be destroyed but some of it would survive, instant boarding party, they were either desperate or confident but Zero didn't want to stick around to find out.

* * *

Salvador and Axton came through the fast travel to Sanctuary completely hammered, and staggering through the street until they saw Gaige standing arms crossed looking pissed off with them.

"Whatzza matta?" Axton asked, slurred words barely recognisable.

"Where the hell have you two been? You said you'd help me and Gen test out some new prototypes." Gaige was very angry, but Salvador didn't care. Gen walked up behind her, carefree and seemingly happy.

"But weren't you busy seducing Tenna namingo, I mean namigo… Amigo, that's the one." Salvador chuckled as he finally found the word he was looking for. Gaige flushed red, hoping that Gen had missed the last part of that.

"Wait what?" He looked more hurt than angry. Nobody really knew what was going on between him and Gaige and they certainly hadn't voiced it.

"Well? You didn't exactly show any interest after that damn vault key did you? I may have drugged him and slept with him, then taken some sordid photos from a security camera of him naked." She trailed off until she hit silence.

"Really? What did you do with them? Axton asked, appearing a lot more sober.

"I uploaded them on my ECHO netcast, they earned me four billion more subscribers and a lot of money." Gaige was suddenly not regretting her decision.

"So you're telling me." I began as I landed with a sickening crack of my wrist, that will heal but there's obviously something wrong, my body's healing factor and processes have slowed to nearly a standstill.

"Ouch. You're telling me that four billion people have now seen me naked?" I asked her, not sure whether or not to be happy or angry.

"Actually, it earned me four billion MORE subscribers." She hesitated before finally saying it.

"Gaige, how many?" I sighed.

"Twelve billion people have seen you naked, and ninety nine point eight percent of the feedback was all positive."

"Oh, that's er, that's nice." I said before finally looking away from the mixture of awkwardness combined with Gen's evil glare, he'd probably just found out about the one night stand that me and Gaige had.

"You know, if she hadn't admitted to drugging you then I'd totally kick your ass right now." Gen muttered, utterly pissed off.

"Firstly, there's no way in hell you'd ever kick my ass. Secondly, you drugged me? What the fuck?" I turned to Gaige, I knew something was wrong, I shouldn't have been that drunk at that point.

"Oh dear god. I've got whatever you gave me, plus vampire toxins AND a sirens truth saliva in my system. This is calling for one shitstorm of a hangover tomorrow.

"Whatever, I need to take a phone call before that frantic ninja over there delivers more bad news." I said as I saw Zero running through the streets towards the raider hq with a massive exclamation mark displayed over his head.

"Actually, that phone call can wait, that's probably important. Axton, Salvador, go see Tannis for some medicine, I'm sure whatever she calls medicine will actually drain your system of everything, alcohol included, you'll need to be sober for whatever is dangerous enough to make Zero run wild." I said quickly cancelling the ECHO call I had placed.

*1 new message* OK, fair enough, I'll call them back.

'You called? – Lucy Z' Hey, looks like it's not going to be a bad day after all, she remembers me.

"Hey, that's my aunt you're bad mouthing!" The splicer argued, sounding half-heartedly offended.

"Bite me, now get going kiddies, I've got stuff to do." I lifted off the ground and settled down in one of the back alleys, a moment of peace would be nice right now.

* * *

"Woah, that's a big ship." Brick said in awe as he looked through a sniper scope atop Control Core Angel over towards Sanctuary, it was heading straight for the city and would crash straight into its shields at this rate, he didn't know exactly how strong the shield was but he expected something to get through. Still, he thought that he should send some form of help, but with the line-up of defences already there, his forces would just get in the way. So he decided that he would join the fray himself. No chance he was missing out on this action, he thought to himself as he made his way to the fast travel station.

* * *

"Jace?" I asked over the ECHO.

"Yeah?"

"Where are you?"

"The Highlands."

"Why are you there? Never mind. I need you to get to Opportunity and meet with a recent and unlikely ally."

"I'm not going to like who it is am I?"

"Not at all, but she's still an ally, go get her."

"SHE?"

"Jack."

"OH HELL NO! She tried to kill us a few days ago, why are you allied all of a sudden?"

"It's a long story-"

"You've banged her haven't you?"

Radio silence.

"Yes, now get your ass to Opportunity and meet with her, you're both going to be defending my city until this shit storm in Sanctuary is resolved. I don't expect them to attack Opportunity but just on the off chance that there is an attack, it won't be large, it'll only need two strong people, you and Jack. Now stop complaining and do this for me."

"You owe me BIG time pal."

"I know, now hurry up, the Order is planning something big and Roland has called for a meeting, good luck." I hung up the ECHO.

"That guy owes more than he can afford sometimes, douchebag. I mean, come on, Jack!?" Jace cursed to himself as he got off his rock and tried to find a fast travel network station. Defending Opportunity wouldn't be any hassle if he did it right. He wondered what that meeting would be about and how many of the Raiders would be there.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Brick ran through the streets of Sanctuary, he saw Roland looking over the balcony. He always looked out over Sanctuary when he was about to call a meeting.

* * *

"The Order's ship is on a collision course with our city, it will ultimately hit our shields, any ideas?" Astor asked plainly. At this point, he would accept anything.

I was angry, angrier than ever before and I didn't know why, I think it was the sheer amount of drugs and toxins running through my system, but it took some time to notice the hand marks that I had indented on the wooden table in front of me.

"Hmm?"

"Any suggestions?"

I sat there and checked that my guns were both full of ammo.

"Just the one. Stay down, you're about to witness a brutal fight." I said as I stood and even before I got out of my seat began to power myself up. MY super form was never very difficult to get to anymore, it only took me a few seconds and I could do it regardless of whatever else I was doing. It was that trademark shockwave that told me I was there. A blast that shook everything that wasn't nailed down. Papers were flown everywhere. I didn't care, the sheer amount of anger in my mind should never have ever been experienced by any man woman or child ever. In one swift movement I was out of there, and a second later I had my feet planted firmly against the shield. My plan? My plan was simple. To crash that ship before it had the chance to crash into us. Not a great plan to be fair because that involved a last resort, which was ME crashing into the ship. Oh well, all great plans have their flaws. I braced myself against the recoil that my guns would produce and fired eight shots from both guns. Sixteen anti-tank rounds hit the shield at the same spot at Mach twelve speeds, there was a crack that I could see even from here, that was my opportunity and I took it.

I hit the crack so hard that the shield shattered entirely and Gaige's cannons opened fire, I however continued to crash through the ship until I hit a solid containment field in the engine core. It was a trap, it had been all along. Another shield went up around the ship and they changed course. That little inescapable prison for gods that Mist mentioned? Yeah, she wasn't lying. On either side were the main engine cores and I was in a magnetic containment field. Pure energy bands around my wrist were what tied my to the engines. This really was an inescapable prison.

"Oh for shits sake, as if that really happened." I cursed out loud as I allowed the dust and smoke to clear.

"If you want your friend back, you'll give us the sirens. A fair trade do you not think? You'll need this one if you want to prevent all of the other corporations from razing the planet." An old man said over the raiders emergency open channel.

"Listen up buttmunch, you clearly haven't done your homework, these guys won't trade squat, they're going to stay put, they all know that I'd rather die than be traded like livestock. Plus, there's someone down there on that flying city that means a rather lot to me, and who knows what kind of rage filled explosion I might make if said woman were to be harmed?" I said sarcastically. It was sarcasm because I planned on destroying every soul on this damned ship.

"If she's a siren she'll be fine, if not she's not got a great chance, Omega." The monk who was speaking on the raider open channel came into view on a maintenance catwalk a few meters away.

"What did you just call me?"

"That's your nickname from our planning phase. The so called anomaly, the one who could turn the tide in any war and now look at you, chained up like a dog waiting to be put down." He spoke with such authority and I remained silent for a few moments.

"What's this? Speechless are we? Our intel suggests that you've either got a smart quip or a bad attitude towards everything, I find it hard to believe that you would have nothing to say now." He actually laughed, the old bastard.

"Whatever the fuck a dog is, you clearly have me misread, because in about five seconds I'm going to reach yet another power level way beyond my own and your ship is going to go straight into the ocean right next to Thousand Cuts where my man Brick and his bandits will scavenge everything. What do you say to that?" I maintained the scary look, I'm actually fond of this look but as it happens, it was the monks turn to be shocked into silence. I'm not sure if they're aware of my super state, it doesn't really matter though.

"Guys, while I still have access to the Raider channel. Do no, I repeat, DO NOT trade me for anything, I'll get out of here pretty soon, and if you see me, I am not to be treated as a friendly, I'm going deeper into my mind than ever before and awakening my dark side, a side that you've never seen before, and hope that you never have to. He doesn't register anyone as friendly and will, I repeat, WILL NOT hesitate to butcher every last one of you, if you need evidence, ask Jace. Don't come near the ship for a few days and everything should be fine. If you see me and I don't radio in, shoot me down, kill me with everything you have. We're going to need this ship because of what Angel will find out from her scans of the ships databases. See you when this shitstorm calms down. Oh and Maya?"

"Yes?" She managed to reply but I could hear her voice was beginning to croak up.

"Treat Axton well. Axton?"

"Yeah?"

"Stop being a pussy and take Maya out to dinner, come on we're all expecting you two to get back together. Oh and if you ever hurt her I'll rip off all of your limbs and feed you to a thresher. Enough said, let's do this." I began to mentally swim through my own mind.

_'You have a dark side? Other than me?'_

'You aren't the dark side. Trust me, I'd never want to meet him, ever, I'd glad that I go unconscious during that time.;

_'Is he, you know, just another one of me? Or is he actually you?'_

'It's me, it's always been me. This monster inside me, every bad thing I've ever done has strengthened him. It's not like you and Fuel, I can physically pull you into reality, with this one it's only ever going to be me or him. Desperate times call for desperate measures.'

And that was when I found him, expecting me in the darkest corner of my mind, just waiting for the day that he could rain destruction across the universe, a dire description but you'll soon understand why. That was when he took over and everything went black.

* * *

Jace found himself staring up at the city gates of Opportunity, a redhead was sitting atop one of the city defence cannons, it looked inactive but she looked like she'd just found a new plaything.

"How did I get into this?" Jace muttered as he continued through the gates and waited for the ambush, but it never came. The gates closed behind him and Jack jumped down and fell into step with him.

"Jace? We've got a problem." Someone came in over the ECHO that Ten had given him, it must have been the Raider's open frequency.

"Who is this?"

"Angel. Ten's been captured, he said that he's doing something that he really doesn't want to, he's reawakening his dark side or something, he said that you would be able to tell us what that means." Jace stopped dead in his tracks, sweat became visible on his forehead.

"What's got you so spooked?" Jack asked, not knowing any better of the situation.

"Jace? What does it mean?" Angel asked again.

"It means we all die. Get Sanctuary away from that ship! Lock down any civilian outposts, this is bad, bad, bad , bad."

"JACE! Calm yourself. Sanctuary is safe, Overlook has a shield, Thousand cuts is full of bandits and we don't care about them. Opportunity has a state of the art city wide defence, it will erect a dome that will take the city underground and safe from planet wide destruction, all you have to do is to activate the commands for it. It's a long list, I'll send you the codes, it should take no longer than twenty minutes, then I'd suggest that you get to Ten's penthouse and relax, the city will come back up naturally in twenty four hours, make the most of it. Good luck Jace." Angel hung up the ECHO call.

"Sooo… What was that all about?" Jack asked.

"How long is it until you need sustenance?" Jace asked her curiously. If it was shorter than twenty four hours, he would have to kill her.

"I don't NEED sustenance, it just makes me more powerful. I'm immortal, why?"

"I've been given the command codes to turn this city into an underground fortress. The people living here are innocent, and they need every chance they can get to survive what's to come."

"And what exactly is coming our way?"

"A really, REALLY powerful version of Ten. It's him, but a darker side, this THING isn't like the other's that are actually different beings, this IS Ten, it's him consumed by rage and anger, the only thing he cares about is death and destruction. Angel may believe that he's going to pull through, but he won't. I'm going to put this city in the ground then we've got to get EVERYBODY here, it's our best option."

"Won't the rest of the raiders try to kill me?"

"Most of them, so go up to the penthouse and I'll meet you there when everything is safe, just don't drink all of the alcohol, I'll want some afterwards." Jace flashed a cheeky grin as he got to work on the console, he made sure that the dome went over the fast travel, which is did, he could successfully get people through, and once everyone was in he'd get Angel to shut off the systems that weren't essential.

* * *

"Another message from Jace, he said to evacuate absolutely everyone to Opportunity. Apparently what Ten's about to do is that dire." Angel was disturbed by the franticness that Jace was displaying. She'd hacked herself into the Legionnaire's database and he'd had recommendations from every squad leader he'd served under. 'Unwavering bravery' and now here he was running around trying his best to secure Opportunity.

"I think we should take him seriously, this doesn't fit his usual behaviour, this could be serious. I'll set up all the different evac sites inside Opportunity, you all get to work on moving the people from here and Overlook." Angel said seriously as she began working on eight different monitors at the same time, her brain working at maximum capacity.

* * *

"I've finally done it. Oh my god, I've actually synthesized his DNA!" The splicer announced before hushing his voice upon realisation that he was alone and talking to nobody. He was working on recreating the parts of Ten's DNA that allowed him to fly. Re-creating it was one thing but upon closer inspection he found a very big problem. It was unlike any DNA he'd ever seen.

There were five helixes all tightly woven around each other to form one DNA strand. This was amazing.

"This must be the beings. There's Ten himself, Heat and Fuel, but that's only three… What are you two?" He asked himself as he studied his findings more accurately. This had to be presented to the raiders immediately.

* * *

_Free at last. It feels good to be rid of your foolish bonds. Did you think you could hold me forever? You mistake me for one of these flimsy beings? I am YOU and a much stronger you at that. Just stay down forever and you'll save yourself a lot of pain. The pain from waking up to find that everything had been destroyed. Everyone you've ever loved, engulfed in a great flame. My darkness reigns supreme above all else. I will see this world burn at my fingertips. Then, it will be a case of rinse and repeat for every other planet out there until you can't take it, the pain of losing loved ones. I WILL be free of your permanently boy. Let's see how long you last. _

_I've grown powerful over the years. Let's see how long these metal engines will last against my raw unchained power. _

_Oh look, not long at all. Things are starting to heat up in here. The engines blew, that's a shame, it was entertaining seeing that monk bubble and burn before being incinerated into a pile of ash. His remains will serve to be a perfect representation of your will to resist me. Laughable at best. Now let this planet know that judgement day is upon them!_

* * *

Angel heard something that didn't even sound human, a roar of triumph emanating power through sound coming from the ship.

"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT!?" Salvador shouted in a slightly drunken state as he rounded up the last civilians in Sanctuary and watched them go through the fast travel.

"GO, GO, GO, GO, GO!" Axton shouted, each word becoming more frantic after the last one as he ran past Salvador in what seemed like a blur. In the time that he'd known Axton he'd never seen him run that fast. All of the raiders were in Sanctuary at this point apart from Angel who had gone with the last group of civies.

Then the ship exploded in the distance. A million pieces of shrapnel harmlessly bounced off the shield. In the distance Salvador could see a figure floating in the air, he could only assume that it was Ten, but even from this distance he could tell something was wrong. He was shrouded in shadows, everything about him seemed wrong. Just his mere presence startled Salvador.

"Ugh, guys? Why does he look like he's about to murder all of us?"

"Get out of there now! Do NOT fight him!" Jace shouted frantically over the ECHO.

When Salvador looked back to where he had seen Ten he was no longer there, instead he was right outside the bubble. Salvador assumed that the Order had brainwashed him or something and that it had gone wrong, because their ship was no more.

He pushed a finger against the bubble at lightning speed and shattered it instantly.

"Ah shit." Salvador said plainly as he himself retreated into the fast travel, there was no way he was getting involved with this.

* * *

_What's this? You've chosen to resist? Your puny pathetic city has erected a shield. I hope it wasn't specifically for me? Was it for me? Cute none the less. There, a finger destroyed your prescious shield. Now the real fun begins._

* * *

The only people left on Sanctuary were Lilith, Fuse, Maya, Axton and Astor, they were trying to do some damage against whatever the hell had taken over Ten.

"Angel, be ready to take this fast travel offline when we're all through." Astor commented. Ted suddenly lost interest in the five of them and instantly levelled Marcus' gun store with a few solid movements that destroyed the foundations and made the brickwork collapse into the ground.

"Lilith, go through, Fuse, you next." Axton commanded. He was the acting officer in this situation.

"I can put him in a bubble long enough for us to get out of her but you have to move now!" Maya commanded as she did as she had told them she would. For some reason Ten just stood inside the bubble, the previous gunfire having no effect. The remaining raiders went through the fast travel and Angel pulled it offline, they were all safe. The citizens of Sanctuary were evacuated to Opportunity alongside those from Overlook. There were a few other faces from around Pandora that weren't fond of the idea of staying in the cities. Ellie and Loggins were both there. Captain Scarlett had made an appearance but quickly found her way over to the penthouse suites and was currently sitting with Jack drinking Ten's alcohol. Jace was there as well but he had his mind on other things.

* * *

_You believe them to be safe? I WILL FIND THEM! Once I find them, I'm going to tear their whole world down in front of them. First this siren bubble, then this city then the rest of this pathetic mortal civilisation. _


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

"We're circling the drain here. We have to do something drastic to fight back against this new threat." Gen said calmly. All of the raiders were in Ten's penthouse.

"Just remind me, why are we in Ten's penthouse?" Fuse asked from the bar.

"Because he'll hate it when we tell him." Maya responded from the couch.

"Are you going anywhere with this Gen?" Roland asked, actually paying attention to the young splicer as he tried to explain. Everyone had accepted the fact that Ten had created an alliances with an immortal vampire before giving in to his dark side.

"Yes, I am. Listen up everybody, I'm only going to say this once." Gen waited for everyone to be silent.

"I've synthesized Ten's DNA. I'll try to explain this as best I can. There's a few things I need to explain. Firstly I need some input. Regular humans have a double helix to form one standard strand of DNA. Ten has FIVE different helixes in each strand.

"That is NOT possible!" Tannis interrupted, furious at the mere notion that this might be true.

"You're just angry because I discovered this and not you. Anyway, it IS possible, but he should only have three, maybe four at the most, but never should he have FIVE. A maximum of two DNA helixes for him. His mind and his body. When he changes he doesn't change body, just the mind incorporating the body."

"Yeah, but you've seen it as well as us, he can pull them into reality alongside himself. How do you explain that?" Brick asked, everyone was surprised that Brick had actually come up with something that didn't involve punching anything.

"While he can indeed do that, they are still tied to him, an invisible anchor if you will. If he dies, then no matter where they are they die too." Gen informed them.

"But what about this prophesy that he had?" Astor piped up but quickly realised that wasn't common knowledge.

"WHAT prophesy?" The look in Maya's eyes told him that if this was a wrong answer he'd be flung from the roof.

"What prophesy? The… The prophesy about the moon crabs and the cheese shipment. Apparently he has an allergic reaction to cheese and it kills both Heat and Fuel." Astor had no idea why exactly he'd said that but he wasn't sure it was worth it. Maya shouted in fury as she aimed her weapon. Without thinking Gen threw a vial that was in his pocket at Astor. It shattered and doused him in a glowing orange liquid. When Maya opened fire. Astor was nowhere to be seen. He then popped back into view.

"Displacement formula. You can thank me later. Let's all keep our cool here. Astor; is that the prophesy about 'The Fall of Pandora'?" Gen asked over dramatically at the last part. Astor nodded.

"That's alright, Claptrap had broadcast that particular ECHO call to all of us. Maya you and Axton were else where, brooding about whatever it if you emo pussies brood about." Gen smirked at the last part.

"Don't push it." Maya warned him with a death stare.

"Where was I? Oh yeah, the prophesy. To avoid going into detail, that old gypsy woman told him that they would find a way to break their connection. To break Ten's mental chains so to speak. They will be able to escape on their own and THEN and only THEN can we try to kill them." Gen looked tired. He'd been slaving over synthesizing Ten's DNA but he'd gotten amazing results. Deadly results but amazing none the less.

"So, what's your solution to the current problem? How do we fight against him in his darkened state?" Jace spoke for the first time. He was standing by the window watching vigilantly. At the first sign of that huge metal dome breaking he would be out there in a flash. He'd have to pull out all the stops. He wouldn't be able to kill Ten like this, but then he wouldn't need to. He had ONE particular way in which he would be able to just about match his power.

"I punch him!" Brick stated.

"He'd kill you by splintering all of your bones one by one." Jace called back.

"Badass. Painful but badass." Brick sat down again, deciding that it wasn't in his best interests for Ten to break his bones.

"When I said I've synthesized his DNA, I have, and I tested it on some skags. Before any of you argue that it was animal abuse, just remember how quickly they will decide that you're food. The first injected formula turned the normal little skag into, a form most similar to Heat. Yeah, a skag turned into a flaming badass right before my eyes. The effects lasted an hour and a half then it fell asleep as the flames wore off. In that time it was pretty much invincible because of the ratio of Ten's blood to its own. I created a powerhouse." Gen looked sombre at the same time though.

"Are you telling us that you can give us Ten's powers?" Roland looked more curious that worried by the side effects.

"For an hour. And I can't make the effects permanent because while you'll be invincible for that hour, it's also highly dangerous, I've had no human subjects so if any of you want to volunteer you'd best be ready for the consequences. And you'll have to match Ten's willpower. He really is unique, no living thing should ever be able to bear the strain that he does, it's incredible."

"Fan boy." Salvador snorted.

"I take it you don't want to fly for an hour?" He looked at Salvador.

"Hold on, I never said that, please continue mi amigo." Salvador said apologetically. Just as well Gen thought, he and a few others were the only ones he speculated would be strong enough to handle it.

"What happens if you double dose?" Angel asked.

"You die, it's that simple. If you EVER take the formula again, the same thing will happen, despite the length of time between the first dose. Two doses and that's it." Gen looked sad as he remembered the five skags and two stalkers he experimented on. His face soon turned to pure pissed off as he felt the scar on his thigh.

"I volunteer." Jace said to everyone's amazement.

"You… You volunteer?" Gen repeated in case he'd heard wrong.

"I'm not one of you. Just a temporary guest. I'm physically the most powerful. If it kills me, then none of you will be able to handle it. Except maybe a few of the sirens actually. I will go up and assess the threat. My power plus Ten's we might actually stand a chance against him. Jace looked around. Gen had a small injector already in his hand.

"No, we need to do this above ground. Ellie's garage. That way you can retreat instantly. Angel set up the connection. Let's go Gen." Jace was already out the door. But he quickly reappeared just in front of the sirens.

"Quick kiss for good luck? Anyone? All of you?" Jace stopped joking when Tex raised her fist.

"Why are you really here?" Mist asked before Jace disappeared.

"If I refuse to tell you will you give me that truth shit?"

"No." She said bluntly.

"Aww." He disappeared for the final time.

* * *

_One mistake. ONE. And now I know where they are. Really I should be applauding them because a city shielded by a metal dome that large. UNDERGROUND. Genius. I didn't think any place would be that well defended. I'll think of it as a challenge. A challenge to see how quickly I destroy that city and turn it to ash. Did you hear that? That sounds familiar, was that a fast travel station? Interesting, it seems to me like someone has come to try and face off against me. Interesting. Let's not keep them waiting. I'm eager to break your friend's morale right in front of you._

* * *

Gen had injected Jace and left, a mere second after that the fast travel went down. This was it. No turning back now. He really should have gotten a kiss for his troubles though. A black shadow blotted out one of Pandora's suns then it was upon him a mere yard away from him. Luckily he felt Ten's DNA bind with his. Gen didn't mention that. It may have been different for him because he wasn't human. That was actually an awesome feeling. He felt angry though and he didn't know why.

_"Strange. I don't think I've ever killed Lycan before."_

"You have Ten, many of my people have cowered in fear of the legend that you have become among so many. But there's one thing my people fear more that you. And that's ME." Jace transformed. His hair grew before their eyes and his face contorted, his vocal chords stretched. This was different though, for the first time since THE first time he transformed, he felt truly alive. He looked down and his fur was on fire, not burning, but on Fire. This was his new look apparently. He had the physical strength and speed of Heat and himself combined but he was still himself. He felt angrier and much more powerful but not different.

_"Interesting. You may prove to be a challenge yet. Or not."_ Ten said with a dark smile that would have sent a chill down Jace's spine if he hadn't been feeling so powerful. Jace struck out. A punch to the abdomen that would have snapped steel from the sheer force. It was a light tap to Jace and Ten didn't feel a thing. He just stood there and watched.

"OK, time to bring things up a notch I think." He smirked as he leapt into the air and smashed his heel into Ten's face, this DID have an effect. Ten was sent sprawling into the dirt but was up a second later and kneed Jace in the back. That would have broken anyone else but Jace was resilient, he twisted his body and kept the fight going. He realised that he was in mid-air and that Ten was not holding him there. He really had all of Heat's powers flowing freely through his body. He didn't like flying though, it was weird and feeling gravity-less was not his style. He landed with a harsh thumb but luckily there were in the Dust. Ellie's garage. Literally. Jace had landed on Ellie's garage without realising it.

* * *

_I can see why you're friends with such a powerful being. He's still a mere insect compared to me but he's the best this planet has to offer. I may keep him alive for a while as my plaything. What are you doing? Are you fighting back? Don't. You won't like the result. I'm warning you. Fine, you asked for it._

* * *

Ten rose into the air higher and higher before looking for energy sources. The only things left were Thousand Cuts, the Hodunk clan which was nearby and an underground city. That was what he was looking for.

"_Goodbye little wolf. I'll see you where the suns no longer reach."_ Ten said before disappearing in an instant.

"Did you guys get that?" Jace asked visciously before winding his attitude down and returning to his human form. His clothes were singed and burn but not destroyed. His Legionnaire uniform was just generally damage resistant.

"Yeah, unfortunately, I read a heat signature just standing above the city." Astor replied over ECHO.

"What? He JUST left!?"

"Well, it looks like you weren't joking when you said that he's much more powerful." Astor replied almost comically.

"Come on back, we'll need you. Gen said that he wants to run some tests on you to see if there's some sort of difference in the blah blah blah." Astor complained to him. Jace didn't need a second telling. He was through the fast travel the moment it lit up.

* * *

"He's just standing there."

"Good, it gives us time to prepare."

* * *

_I count a couple of thousand people down here. Let's make them burn. First this dirt. Then that metal dome. Then their lives. You're trying to fight again. I felt that, how did I feel that, you shouldn't be able to do that. I guess I'll have to hurry up and end their lives right now._

* * *

I'm trapped inside my own mind. I can't remember the last time this happened. It's cold and dark in here. This isn't right. But I did what I had to do. I did what was necessary right? This isn't my place, this is his. Mine I suppose but not while I'm like this. I'm trapped inside the deepest parts of my subconscious, where it's either him or me. I don't know why I keep saying that, there is no difference. There is no line in the sand. He is my darkness in one place, and I am the rest. How do I regain control of myself? What if I stand and shout? Or maybe power up again, when I did that he tried to scold me. OK, here goes. Come on, a little bit higher.

_Your attempts to regain control are really starting to annoy me. Your friends have already shown me reason to hurry my utter destruction of this planet, I advise you don't join them._

"Fuck you, this is my body and you are the same as ME! When I say it's time to calm down, we CALM DOWN!" I shouted in response as I pushed and surged everything I had in me at that very point I found a weakness. This will work. When everyone attacks me I can take over again, this is it, I can be me again. If I mess this up though, everyone will die.

* * *

Jace was at the ready, Gen had finished his testing and was astonished. He wasn't sure if the same thing would happen in the rest of the raiders because they were all completely human. But Jace had retained the ability to turn into a demonic form like Heat yet keep his mind his own. Jace was now their first line of defence.

I broke through the roof of the Opportunity dome. It was easy. Too easy with all this power. The tower, are they all in my penthouse? Bastards. The next thing I did was broke through the window. All of my furniture had been turned over on itself and everyone was armed and aiming at me. Apart from Jace who was hiding above me. But I sensed him easily.

_Any last words for them?_

I will take over, you know that?

_Eventually, but until then I'm going to have fun._

Jace swooped down with a kick that would have been effective on anyone else. Instead I just moved to the side and flung him across the room effortlessly. It wasn't difficult, but I get the feeling that he wasn't trying as much as he could.

NOW! I pushed so suddenly that my body keeled over and began to wallow in the darkness. Jace saw an opportunity and transformed into… What the fuck? Heat? But on Jace? Gen… That clever little splicer, he'd done something with my genetic material and infused the same thing in Jace. I'd expect that only a select few would be strong enough to house all that power and not go bat shit crazy.

Jace punched and gave me a brief moment of clarity, I was back, "Don't stop!" I shouted and they knew it was the real me underneath. Maya phaselocked me, Lilith flooded the bubble with phase dimensional energy. That shit hurt. Angel electrocuted the bubble, Fuse superheated it, Mist intensified the power of everything inside the bubble and Tex and Jace began throwing rapid punches in my direction. Tex had a killer punch. Intensified kinetic energy can be really hard.

I pushed more and more knowing that nothing my dark personality could do to stay dominant. And then I said it.

_"He doesn't love you anymore Maya, why would you keep trying for something that's not going to happen?" I said._

"Ignore him, he's only saying it because we're winning." Astor said from behind her as he fired his gun at me, that hurt. I was out, the darkness had subsided and the powers had dropped. I was on my hands and knees sweating, in pain but me again, and I hadn't killed anyone. I hit the floor and rolled onto my back, only then realising that I was sweating and bleeding on my favourite rug.

"OK, let's not ever do that again. Anyone woman or women that want to nurse me back to health feel free. The rest of you are welcome to piss off and use any apartment in the city. I own it after all. Now scram, I need a couple of still drinks to deal with what I just went through. Nobody moved at all.

"What?" I asked, having to put my hands on my knees to steady myself. Gaige raised a black weapon, Howitzer, that's my gun. She aimed it at my body.

"What's to keep you from turning again?" She asked. Nobody stopped her.

"I turned by choice. Knowing that if I didn't do something, the Order would have destroyed this planet in a heartbeat. They don't care about civilians of one planet when they believe that their god will be omnipotent and save the universe." I explained. The gun lowered slower that I liked but it was lowered none the less, then people started leaving, until the only people left in my penthouse were Maya, Mist, Jack the vampire and Jace.

"Is it true? What you said?" Maya asked softly. She spoke like it wouldn't matter despite what I'd say, but I could see it in her eyes, she was going to be hurt. Why should I lie and say that I still love her? She left me for Axton once already in the prison, and I'm sure they're together now.

I sighed heavily, not liking where this conversation was going.

"I'm sorry Maya. But I'm not the same person I was months ago. I'm a whole new animal, and nothing you do will change that. You're better off with Axton like I said. Take it easy from here on out, go to one of the clubs that I had the remaining workforce build." She nodded, a single tear in her eye but left without any more words to be exchanged. I pulled two beers out of the cooler behind the bar.

"Are you my nurse for the night?" I asked the purple haired siren standing behind me, arms folded as I handed her a beer.

"Maybe." She winked cheekily.

"Wait a sec." I said as I rounded the kitchen counter and walked up the stairs. Jace and Jack were talking intently on my bed. ON. MY. BED!

"Guys, I hate to be rude but, please fuck off. I'm real proud that you're playing nice, but seriously, go to another apartment, they're all empty for five floors." I said as they both stood, still happy.

"I'm not going to commit to the raiders, but like Jace. I'm an ally, don't mistake that." Jack said as she outstretched her hand.

"Thank you. Things will be a lot easier for us with an immortal on our side. I'll get Angel to give you access to a few perks of being with the raiders tomorrow. For now, just chill. There are no more impending threats for Pandora. There's some new nightclubs I built in the city, you should check them out." I said as I looked at Jace. When we were younger we used to go out a lot. It was a pretty wild time.

"Call me Jackie. Jack's the name of a dead man." Jackie said as she and Jace left my apartment. I fell down onto my bed and let my eyes close for a second. Sleep would be nice, but I had other things on my mind; Mist.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

**Come and check out my own fiction story on FictionPress - s/3158545/1/Surviving-Ragnarok**

* * *

"Go! For the love of god Alex, GO!" I shouted as there were explosions everywhere. She knew what was happening.

"I won't leave you!" She shouted back in response as she disintegrated a doorway that had closed around me. I had to go into the main reactor and shut it down before it blew up and killed everything. It was a suicide mission but I knew that already. I didn't expect to be able to get out of there alive, but my superior, Captain Alex Rose, who was also my lover decided that I, one man, was not worth the rest of them. She refused to let me go.

"It's happening, I can't hold him off, Rose, GO!" I shouted in fury. I didn't mean to speak like that to her but it was already happening. The demon broke free and burst into reality with a storm of heat and fire that would have decimated everything near. But Rose was like me, strong, fast, and almost impossible to kill. But she couldn't stand up to the demon in me. She had no other option but to go and make sure that the rest of the civilians survived. Civilians, that's what we called them, though none of them were civies at all, they were all VIPS and scientists working at the Institute.

This was the turning point where everything went south for me. To outsiders our mission was public and obvious, though anyone with a brain would have seen right through it. Rakkeria, that was where we were sent, that's not the planets real name, it's just a nickname that never went away. The surface of the planet is almost all shorelines and sea, perfect for Rakk to breed in the cliffs. The planet is overflowing with Rakks, thus Rakkeria. The Institute with a highly advanced facility that above ground emulated a hospital, an old, abandoned hospital, but underground, everything is shiny and clean. Mostly a research facility, but built to last. All of the power generators were built to use nuclear power. But something went wrong, we were sent in and the threat reached the nuclear reactors. Someone had to go in and manually push the power heads back into place. If no one did it, everyone died. No one volunteered. Rose ordered me to regroup at the ship to go off world straight away.

I disobeyed her direct orders and headed into the vault that held the passages to the individual power modules that needed to be recoupled. Rose followed me, she wouldn't let me go, saying something about me being to important to her. I couldn't listen to that. I was doing the right thing after all, wasn't I?

* * *

I woke up with a drop of sweat rolling across my forehead. I just witnessed a part of my forgotten past in a dream. That's trippy. Mist is crouched over me, a damp cloth in her hand, she dabbed at my forehead.

"You were having a nightmare." She said calmly before putting the cloth away and lying down next to me.

"How can you tell?" I asked her, curious why she said nightmare. It wasn't, it was just a glimpse of the past. It's daunting, yes, but not a nightmare.

"You started yelling and thrashing before you briefly exploded and caught fire. You turned back to normal afterwards. Somehow, the bed sheets didn't catch fire." Mist frowned at that last part. I must literally have transformed when I did in my dream.

"Yeah, it's happened before, I got fire retardant bed sheets. Did I get you?" I asked as I rubbed my eyes, it was five am. I must have been bad to have woken her up.

"Just a little bit, it didn't hurt that must." She said with a reassuring smile. "Who's Alex and Rose?" She asked, turning her head away from me.

"Captain Alex Rose, ask Jace, he'll tell you better than me after he finishes swearing about her. I'm sorry, but I can't remember anything about last night." I said apologetically. It's true, I have no idea what happened, the last I remember, I was shooing people out of my apartment then falling onto the bed.

"Nothing happened. You were VERY alluring to begin with, but I know your track record, nothing happened because-" Mist leaned in closer, she was wearing a bra that didn't work very well at keeping her all in.

"IF you want THIS, then you have to commit." She pulled away, smiling at herself.

"Wow, manipulative. OK, we'll work on that." I said as I stood up and stretched.

"What do you mean?" She frowned.

"I'm not going to commit to anything. You'll have to work on that." I said as I winked at her and then scanned the room for some clothes. No doubt people will start turning up soon.

* * *

Roland and Astor were the first to arrive but soon Axton burst through my door, literally, followed by Brick and Krieg. I'm kind of annoyed about that actually, it's a nice door.

"Maya's gone! No sign of Fuse or Tex either. Come on people, tell me they're nearby!" Axton shouted in fury.

"Gone?" I asked him.

"Gone. It seems that only a tiny part of the Order came to Pandora by that ship you blew up. Maya's gone. Fuse, gone. I don't know who else." He was frantic at this point. The Order could have gotten through in theory because I managed to break a hole in the ceiling.

"Angel, come in?" Roland asked over the ECHO.

"I'm with Maya, Fuse, Tex and Lilith. We've been taken, I don't know where we're going but it's not anywhere near Opportunity. You have to get us here quickly, and keep Mist away, what they're planning needs all six sirens. And for the love of god keep Ten contained, he's the seventh element!" What Angel didn't realise was that she was on the Raider frequency, it came through to everyone, including me.

The seventh element.

"Of course. One with the power of the sirens combined. Oh shit!" I said as I walked over to the bar, very slowly so that nobody had to get hurt. Mist was terrified behind me. I'm the key to all of this, why must everything revolve around sacrificing or murdering me? Bastards, all of them.

I grabbed a bottle of whiskey and an unopened bottle of my strongest rum. For what I was about to do would be very painful. I'm just dulling said pain in advance.

"Ten… What are you doing?" Mist said, worry thick in her voice.

"Something that's going to take a lot of alcohol and casual sex to forget." I muttered. They all seemed to have heard me. Brick even laughed as I burst through the hole in my window that I created yesterday in my angry state. Drinks in hand I quickly finished off the whiskey and dropped the bottle just short of the hole in Opportunity's dome. It would have feel to the ground and smashed.

I felt something dig into my legs, that's odd, I don't remember putting my gun holsters on. Oh well, they're there and they can punch a hole through multiple tanks at a time.

"Angel, if you're still hearing this, patch me through to EVERY ECHO signature on the planet." I waited a moment before I heard the familiar noise of a connecting ECHO unit. It took a few minutes longer but it was finally on an open frequency to everyone on Pandora.

"I know you can hear me. My name is Ten. I'm that supernatural being that blew up the gigantic war ship attacking Sanctuary. I blew it up with a pure manifestation of my eternal anger and rage. You do NOT want to be my enemy today. The ORDER have kidnapped five of my friends. Five SIRENS. I intend to get them back. If you're in the military ranks of the Order and you're hearing this. My advice is give up before I let the demon loose. I know where your resistance is based. Loboria, an old planet with some old enemies. This is where things get really fucked up. My message to the rest of Pandora? I need a single pilot capable of flying a ship I procured. I know the course to Loboria, you just need to be willing. If you're interested, see me in Opportunity. I will give you food and shelter. If you for some reason do not believe my words. I'm about to fly around the planet looking for my friends. Message over." That was quite a speech I'm proud of that.

"GREAT MESSAGE, M***** F***** YOU HAVE MADE ME PROUD!" Torgue shouted in exhilaration over the ECHO.

"Thanks Torgue, but unless you can fly me to Loboria you can just stay wherever you are." I said back flatly. I'm in no mood for Jace's insane uncle to be shouting in my ears.

"I am actually. I'm flying my custom SPACE TRUCK right now! See ya in that golden obnoxious city of yours!" Torgue shouted before cutting off.

He thinks my city is obnoxious? What's wrong with it?

A few minutes later and a few hundred miles and I got another ECHO call.

"Hey hun, it's Ellie. You remember my resident pilot, Loggins right? Well, he wants ta' help you get our girls back." Ellie informed me before cutting off. This is good, not even five minutes later and two volunteers. This way we can send at least two of the three ships that I stole from Hyperion. I say stole, I actually just took control of the entire Hyperion outpost near Overlook. That whole area is mine and therefore, everything inside said outpost belongs to me as well. That includes three space exploration class rockets outfitted to last many months voyage each way. Our entire trip should only take five days maximum, depending on how long it takes us to liberate the sirens. Andrew could give us some trouble as well, but I'll leave that to Jace. It's his planet, he takes lead as soon as we get there.

I'd best go back to base and see if everyone is ready for this.

* * *

I told Roland and Axton my plan, and they told everyone else while I sat on my bed upstairs with Mist. I had to keep her close for her own safety. And for the safety of my mind.

I heard a few good suggestions fly around from here and there, but then something caught my attention.

"What did you say?" I asked, poking my head around the balcony. It was Gen who'd given the suggestion.

"Well, I AM a scientist, I've even had the nickname, Splicer. I can splice DNA. Now, while that would usually take far too long to come up with a solution. Gaige has said something interesting. I'm sure that if she builds me the necessary equipment, I can splice two people together for a short amount of time.

I took some time to fully understand this.

"You can fuse two people together?"

"Yes." He said at last.

"Do it. I'm curious as to seeing how this will work." I said before continuing towards the stairs.

"So what's our current battle plan?" I asked openly. It was Axton that spoke up.

"If we are ALL going to Loboria, we're going to need another pilot. So far we've got Torgue and Loggins. They will take Roland's team and your team." He said. My team? I get a team? I'm no leader.

"My team?" I asked.

"Your team. Whether you like it or not Ten, people look up to power." Roland said from behind Axton. I suppose he's right.

"The third team?"

"Astor."

"SO, we get this third pilot, we go to Loboria. Who defends Sanctuary, Opportunity and Overlook? I swear to god if my city gets taken over I will not be pleased." Pissed off more like.

"We've more or less got that covered. Scarlett. You've got Sanctuary with Ellie, Moxxi and Hammerlock." Roland said, pointing to a map. Not a console, an actual map that had been hand scribbled. There were multiple points of interest, the main ones being Sanctuary, Overlook and Opportunity.

"Overlook?" Zero asked with a question mark on his helmet.

"Guarded. Overlook isn't governed by us, it's a civilian town with a shield against mortar strikes, no one gains anything from attacking Overlook. No one will. Opportunity thought. Opportunity will remain undefended for the moment. We need everyone on this rescue mission." Roland said, refusing to make eye contact with me.

"Not quite." I said as I pushed a few buttons on a console on the wall. The whole of Opportunity began to rise once more. Daylight breached everything as the dome retracted and the city reached the surface. Automated turrets digistructed everywhere. I mean everywhere. I'd done a lot of work on MY city so that if I ever had to leave it undefended. It wouldn't BE undefended.

"So, change of plan. Everything is defended. We're good to go, we just need that final pilot. Gaige, we need you to prep some fast travel machines that only correspond to each rocket. There is a maximum distance on Fast travel units but they govern whole planets so we should be fine. But once we're a certain distance away from Pandora, the fast travel wont work unless it's to each rocket. You all have your assignments. Good luck." Great speech Roland, true leader.

*1 new message*

"Hi, I got your message, the name's Grif, I'm on my way to Opportunity now, I'd like to volunteer to fly one of your rockets!" – Grif.

Well, that's interesting.

"Guys we've got our final pilot. Inform everybody while I go and meet this guy." I said as I flew out of the window, a crate of ice cold beers in hand. I just flew onto the roof and sat there, looking out over my glorious city. Fresh air never felt so right. But neither did the beers. This Grif guy, he could make or break this rescue mission. I hope he knows what he's doing, but then again it's the same story with the other two. Torgue is just as insane as Jace and I'm pretty sure Loggins is just a bandit outcast. Bandits. That label was what used to represent anything not Hyperion on this planet and now look, we've liberated just about everything. Now I'm sitting here, waiting to fly to another planet to liberate them. I've come so far since my arrival on Pandora. God, I've lost track of how long I've even been here.

I was in Liar's Berg with Hammerlock, we started talking, at first I was just passing through, but then he mentioned the Raiders. Not long after I left I heard rumours that a bunch of Vault Hunters were on a train that was destroyed out in the Frozen wastes, a little bit north of Liar's Berg. A few days later they came waltzing into Sanctuary. I made eye contact with a few of them. Maya, I remember staring into her deep blue eyes as she returned the gaze. I quickly left because it was getting dark and I was getting weary. This was back in a time when every night I would change into a monster that loved killing everything. She changed me, into less of a monster, now it only happens in dire situations. That's enough dwelling on the past for now, there's a guy running through my city gates. Dressed completely in orange. What the hell?

I dropped from the building, not even bothering to slow my descent. Then I realised that unless I slowed down, my beer would spill, so I did. I came to a stop in front of him. Young, strong headed. Yeah, he'll do well.

"Grif?"

"Aye sir. Here ta' help you kick some ass." He smiled like victory was already in hand.

"I like your enthusiasm, come on up and meet the crew." I said as I held out my hand for him. He looked at me weirdly first but then took it and we were soon flying high above the city. Once we were inside people were freaked out by his fashion sense but soon got over it.

"Everybody meet pilot three. Grif." I announced as I handed him a beer.

"Pilot three? There's others?"

"Yeah. Pilot number one is Mr. Torgue." His face dropped at this, I guess he never thought that he might be flying with someone as prolific as Mister Torgue.

"Pilot number two is Loggins."

"Kenny Loggins!?"

I was silent for a few moments.

"No… Not THE Kenny Loggins that you're thinking off… What is Loggins first name?" I asked, suddenly caught out by the question.

EVeybody either shrugged or stayed silent.

"Fuck it, let's call him Kenny Loggins. Where are we with the prep?" I asked as I noticed that Brick, Salvador Gaige, Gen and Zero had all disappeared.

"Nearly ready. We set off tomorrow. Get some rest between now and then." Jace said before turning away and leaving my apartment.

"Find an empty suite and stay the night, I'll see you tomorrow Grif." I said as I waived him off and went upstairs where Mist was waiting on the bed.

"So.. Ready to commit now?" She asked me sexily, once everybody had disappeared and the doors closed.

"Maybe. What are you going to do to convince me?"

She pulled me in and kissed me deeply. Shit, I totally forgot that she's got that affection toxin. Oh bollocks, I've just been duped into a relationship.

"Commit." She said playfully.

"No." I managed to resist it.

She kissed me again.

"Commit." She repeated.

"Nooo." I said only just.

She kissed for a third time.

"Commit." She said just as strong as the previous two times she'd said that word.

"YES!" I shouted in defeated triumph. Weird I know. She pulled me in for another kiss and before I knew it, our clothes were gone.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

"Private Grif!" I heard Jace bellow from the corridor. I think he was actually just outside it. I walked down and opened the door to see Jace standing with a wicked grin and a blow whistle.

"What the hell are you doing?" I asked him as I turned my head around the door to see Grif, our third pilot, slowly running up and down the corridor.

"Training Grif." Jace said without even looking at me.

"Sergeant Torgue. Commander, er, Ten? I apologize sir, I'm unawares of your formal title." Grif stood to attention, eyes up, not looking at either of us.

"OK, a couple of things. If you ever, I mean, EVER, call me Commander again, I'll throw you off this building. We're friends Grif and I haven't served in any military ranks for a long time. Secondly, Sergeant? I didn't know you were a sergeant." I said, turning to Jace.

"I have been for a while. You'd be surprised how far being a super powerful werewolf can get you." Jace said as he looked at me.

"Right. Well. Time to wake up the building with my awesome guitar skills." I said before closing the door to my resident drill sergeant beasting a new recruit then the thought struck me and I opened the door again.

"He's a private in what militaristic establishment?"

"The Legionnaires of course. I have no power over the raiders, or the power to train people in their name." Jace said. Grif had just completed another run.

"The Legionnaires huh?"

"Yes sir." He was head strong and looked to be the loyal type.

"I take it you're aware of sergeant Jace's predicament?"

"No sir."

"Your superior, Captain Alex Rose and I have had a falling out. Any Legionnaires are to kill me on sight. I like you Grif, so when you inevitable come down with the Legionnaires. Keep your head down and you'll survive." I said before turning around to close the door.

* * *

"Sir, is that true?" Grif asked, somewhat surprised that Ten had known any of the other Legionnaires.

"Yes it is private. The raiders have allowed me to accompany them on this single mission because the fate of my home planet is at stake. The Legionnaires believe me to be on planet wide reconnaissance. He used to be in the Legionnaires you know. When you go back with me you'll have to study a fair amount. He's in our books. Every past servee is. He's one tough son of a bitch. The Legionnaires aren't regular mercenaries. I'm Lycan. The Captain is like Ten. They are unique, I'm not even sure they're human. They come in pairs and always find each other. She can do pretty much everything he can except a few things you'll no doubt see." Jace had adopted a soft facial expression. The past was filled with good memories. But he too remembered the events of Rakkeria which split him up with his best friend in result of him keeping his Job. Rose had always given him a hard time, but what happened in the Institute was just unfair. Stay here and die with him or come back and live.

"Their relation? Sir." Grif asked, curious but cautious as to not over step the boundary.

"Close. Real close. She could have been done for fraternization. Or, she could have been if it was any sort of governed group. She is THE head of the Legionnaires. There were five of us in the elites. We had our own division. The Death's Messengers. We NEVER failed a mission, ever. To this day we still have a clean log of successful missions. Then there's the rest of the Legionnaires. People like you that would fill up the ranks of highly trained mercenaries. Except you won't be joining them. You'll be my understudy until you've completed all the training I have to offer. After that you're going to be the fifth member of the Death's Messengers. Enough with the stories, give me twenty suicide runs, right now Private!" Jace shouted.

"Sir, one final thing though. What of the other two members?"

"Gamma and Beta." Jace sighed. He knew that this would be difficult to explain.

"Gamma is male. No one knows what their origin is. None of us. Though I expect that IF anyone knows it would be Ten. Gamma is the guy. He has empathic power, in immense quantities. Basically, he can do things with his mind. The most common is telekinesis. Moving things around with thought. Beta is female. That bitch is insane. She can manipulate every cell in her body into whatever she desires." Jace sighed.

"She can shapeshift?"

"Yeah… That would have been easier to say. She can morph. That makes her sound more professional that shapeshifter." Jace laughed to himself.

"Now do those suicide runs before they turn literal private!"

* * *

The next day everything was ready. This was it, we were really going on a rescue mission. Roland had one ship. Axton and Astor had the next and I was in charge of the third. Unfortunately. Guess who my pilot was? No wait, here he comes.

"LET'S DO THIS SH*T!" Torgue shouted. That's right, I've got a minimum of three days of Torgue being a loud obnoxious asshole.

"Listen up guys. The rockets you're in are, how do I say this? Specially fitted for you so that you don't get bored. They're very big ships as well. There wasn't enough room to put both a lab and a workshop on the same ship so Gen you're on two and Gaige you're on three. There's a big dojo on the first rocket though I have no idea why that's there, or why any of you need anything to keep you until Loboria. Grow the fuck up and get on a ship. Or you get left behind." I said, feeling grumpy already. I REALLY don't want to be stuck on a rocket with two Torgues for three days.

* * *

"HEY, WHAT'S UP GUYS!?" Jace shouted as he popped through a door. I'll admit, he scarred the hell out of me at that moment. I also jumped because I felt like I was doing something I shouldn't have been.

"Mist did it." I said, pointing towards her instantly.

"Guilty as charged." She raised her hands then pulled my shirt backwards and we both fell onto my bed.

"Leaving!" Jace laughed before shutting the door behind him on his way out.

I put two fingers to my lips as I crept over to the door. Then I pointed at Mist, luckily she knew exactly what I was doing. I waited in front of the door.

"Oh yes! Just like that!" Mist played it very well. Almost too well. Oh my god, was she faking it? Never mind, Jace opened the door.

"Aha! Oh shit!" HE said as he saw me dead centre of the door winding my fist up. If anyone could take this kind of physical punishment as a joke it would be Jace. Then we'd probably get into a scrap. I punched him and he went careening down the cold metal hallway of the ship's interior.

"That's like the THIRD time you've done that to me!" Jace shouted in protest as he got onto his feet and jumped right back at me. He spiked me right in the middle and we went tumbling down a set of metal stairs that ended abruptly and painfully.

"OW! Mother-"My sentence got cut off with a jab to the face that slammed my head to the ground. Only we could have this kind of fun and games.

"So that's how it's gonna' be huh?" I said as I grabbed his fist and sprung my feet under him and into his chest. It didn't do much but we were both on even ground once more.

"Hey boys, you know that I can create some friendly clones for you to fight, right?" Mist said from the top of the stair case.

Me and Jace both looked at each other with the same expression.

"Do it." We both said at once.

* * *

Ship one. The dojo. Everyone except the pilots had come to watch this. Me and Jace versus our own clones. Mist created them, I'm still creeped out by how it gained my likeness bit by bit.

"Sup fucker?" It asked me.

"I am SO going to kill you." I said, disliking my own clone already.

"Bring it." It said as it struck out. I blocked the punch dead on without flinching or moving anything apart from my arm.

"Mist, how old are these clones?" I asked, thinking about how weak it was.

"Yours hasn't changed since you last fought with it." She explained. Well, isn't that nice.

"OK, let's see how much stronger I've gotten. Clone, engage your super form." I said. I let it power up until it was in its super form that emulated my own. Jace's clone had just crept into being and they both instantly transformed. Jace hadn't had a clone before this so it took Mist a little bit longer than before.

"Punch me, as hard as you can." I said to my clone with a smirk. IT wound up a punch then flew at me, I never realised how fast I was. But I let him hit me. I was pushed back a few feet but that's all.

"Hmm. Weaker than I thought. OK, my turn." I smiled wickedly as I punched out faster than anyone could see. They heard the impact of my fist and for the first time in my life, I saw a thick purple mist explode from an air impact.

"Woah." Mist said, impressed. She looked a little drained, so I wouldn't ask her to do another.

Jace and his clone were neck and neck.

"Having fun playing with yourself?" I asked him, immensely amused at my own dirty joke.

"I got this. I learned a few new tricks from your DNA actually." He said. What? My DNA.

"What?" I asked with a frown. Then he did something that shocked me into total stupor. He transformed, FROM his werewolf state into something that looked incredibly like Heat. He was a fiery werewolf. DNA… Gen… I'm going to kill him.

"GEN!" I said, furiously. I saw someone running for the fast travel but I blocked his path.

"You started messing around with my DNA?" I asked, almost too furious for words. Jace killed his clone but everyone's attention was on me. He powered down and joined them.

"Er, we needed it to try and beat you?" He said with a nervous laugh. My god I hate everyone. I silently went through the fast travel and to my room on the third ship where I locked the door. I turned the handle so harshly that is broke off. If anyone else were in here, they'd have died. But the door won't be a problem at the moment.

* * *

Nobody went anywhere near the third ship. The only people on it were Torgue, Jace and Ten who was still locked in his room.

Everyone else was scattered around the other two ships. Mist walked into the bridge of ship two. The new guy was piloting this one, what was his name? Grif? Yeah, that was it.

Roland and Brick were playing a game of chess and Lilith was sitting, staring through the windows. Though, Mist didn't see why, there was nothing except for the occasional moon.

"How long until we reach our destination?" She asked casually.

"Two days tops. What's the word on Ten?" Roland asked without looking up from his chess game. Brick didn't even know the rules, but his random movements were still proving challenging for Roland.

"He's locked himself away. The best thing for him is to be left alone right now." Mist said, still looking at the stars outside.

"We've had word from Gen and Gaige." Lilith said, finally turning her gaze to Mist.

"They've created some sort of splicing machine. It's huge, no exaggeration, it's meant to fuse two people together for a set amount of time."

"And it works?"

"We don't know yet. But we need Ten to be there. Try your best to get them. Everyone will be there. Even the pilots."

"OK, I'll try, but no promises." Mist said with a frown as she walked away.

Half an hour later everyone was in ship two, in Gen and Gaige's Lab/Workshop. Even me. He's created some sort of machine that will temporarily fuse two people together, if it works, this should be badass.

"OK, everything is ready. Are there any volunteers? Remember, this could very possibly go wrong, you don't need me to tell you what will happen, just use your imagination." Gen sadi as he turned around.

"Anyone?" He repeated.

"Ugh, Ten, how about you?" Roland said from somewhere to my left. I grunted as I thought about the strain that might put on a fused body. The others would no doubt be compatible with each other, but me? I'm a whole different case.

"There's a question of compatibility when it comes to me." I said uneasily. Gen looked relieved, as if he'd been saved from having to explain it all.

"Yes. Compatibility. Afflictions. Things that shouldn't be carried over, etc. Basically, if you've got something that the other person doesn't want, don't fuse." Gen said. What, like STD's? A few of the ladies looked at me indifferently.

"OK, I'd like to put it out there, that I DO NOT have any diseases, a few of you are giving me funny looks. I'm completely clean. However, I doubt I'd be able to fuse with any of you apart from Jace or Lilith." I said completely neutrally. Lilith frowned then looked at me.

"Why?" She asked.

"These things inside me? Only people with extreme mental resolve will be able to control them. Jace has already shown to be able to handle the demonic form, shit, he even managed to keep his own mind. But the only other person who could do it is you." I said simply.

"So…" Axton said awkwardly, "Lilith and Ten yeah?"

"Suits me, but, how does this fusion happen, like physically?" I asked, worried about how I might appear when the fused form emerged.

"Whoever is being chosen for the physical side of things, you have to be in the right hand side fusion chamber." Well that solves that question.

"No offense Lilith, but having you inside my mind is COMPLETELY different from me being inside your mind. So if you don't mind, you can go in first." I said calmly. She can experience what it's like inside me safely at first, then we can go towards a neutral fusion.

"So, you want to have the one sided fusion first? To be completely fused as one whole being, that's different, you have to both become acclimated to each other first. So Ten first, then Lilith, let's soo how this turns out shall we?" Gen asked. He was excited, he always got excited when potentially dangerous things were happening. Lilith gave me a nod and stepped into the left chamber and waited for me to take position in the right hand pod. This would be new.

Light shone brightly, blinding me for a few seconds, then everything went dark, completely dark, I couldn't see anything. Then I heard Gen's voice come in from somewhere overhead.

"You have to find each other. You're in a neural state where everything you perceive is based on the mind of the other person. You can hear each other, but I won't be able to hear you." Gen's voice faded away. I could see a human figure in the distance, a low green glow amongst the surrounding darkness. It was faint, but it had to be Lilith. I couldn't help but take my time with going over to her, but she seemed to have seen me a few moments after. Lilith raised her eyebrow after a few seconds of silence.

"You realise you're naked, don't you?" She asked me casually. I think she's enjoying this a little too much. I looked down, she was right. This must have been partly based on my mind as well as hers. I closed my eyes and focused for a few seconds before opening them.

"So are you." I said as her clothes had disappeared before my very eyes. The look on her face was hilarious.

"Not funny!" She shouted before turning away. I closed my eyes and focused. When I turned back around, her clothes had found her again. She did the same and I felt fabric touch against my skin, clothes had woven around my legs and boots had formed around my feet, but no shirt came.

"You prefer the topless look?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. She opened her mouth but before she got a chance to reply, Gen's voice came in overhead once more, still in that soft tone it had been in before.

"I'm starting the neural link now, you're both going to be pushed into Ten's mind. You will be on your own plane of existence inside Ten's mind."

"You may see some horrible things. Be prepared." I said. And for the first time I held out my hand. She looked at it suspiciously but soon figured that it was more for me than it was for her. Visiting your own mind while still a conscious being could be scarring. Especially when you're me.

I felt a shunt, a physical shunt then my surrounding changed instantly. We were in a fiery pit. There was nothing but pathways carved into rock that spiralled down a huge hole. At the bottom was a fiery pit that looked like a prison. What could it have housed? My worst nightmare. Something that should never have been seen by anyone. My dark side. I ignored it for a while as I looked skywards. There was no apparent sky, but more a high ceiling of maroon and burgundy rock.

"Your mind is Hell?" Lilith asked me, her hand clutched tighter around my own. I admit, it relieved me a little bit that she was as tense as me. There was a throne, carved out of the rock, and badly at that, sitting on the rock was that little voice in my head.

"You?" It asked me as it gently glided over to where we were standing, "How are you in here and none of us out there?" He asked me. Lilith looked concerned.

"US?" She para-phrased.

"Well hello, hottie." He said completely transfixed with Lilith. Not even bothering to ask how she was inside my mind. Typical Heat, typical.

"Our minds are being fused together. She's going to be in here for a while." I said, keeping my eyes on him at all times.

"Not a problem with me." He said. He wasn't actively on fire. There was fire burning in his eyes but his skin wasn't blazing, it was just charred and had glowing hot veins running beneath it, but not external fire.

"This is what you look like when you aren't angry?" I asked him, my tone casual. He nodded just as casually.

"Where's the other one?" I asked.

"Always trying to escape."

"What's down there?" Lilith asked, looked down the pit.

Heat hesitated for a few seconds then pointed at me.

"Him."

I emerged from the pod that was apparently in the centre of the huge machine. I hadn't even noticed it there. Lilith had successfully integrated into my mind.

I'm going to try and use your power.

_It's difficult. But then you're someone who has mastered flying and breathing fire._

Yes, I have, so how do you do it?

_From what I can gather from the fragments of your broken mind, which we will be talking about, it should come as naturally to you as crushing particles._

OK, I took her advice together and held out my hand to the space in front of me and suddenly a big portal appeared out of nowhere.

_Yeah, it took me a while to get it to centre on myself instead of around me._

It doesn't matter, Gen's machine works, plus. I'm not you.

I tried again and my body flickered through reality into a strange version of our own reality, but the portal closed and I heard a sickening laugh. Then every woman I had ever known had appeared in front of me, all pointing and laughing at me.

"What the fuck!?" I shouted in outrage. Lilith was no longer in my mind, it had never happened, what WAS happening?

Mist stepped forwards, "Ten wake up!" She said frantically. She was the only one not pointing and laughing at me. I'm not sure what purpose it had as it sure wasn't humiliating me.

"You have to wake up!" She said again.

"It's all just a dream!" A dream… Dreams often happen with figments of reality that become warped or created from scratch. Lilith. She's the problem here. Lilith isn't on the ship. But she feels real, more real than the rest of them. The image shifted, it's just me and Lilith. She's in pain. Strapped to a table. This isn't a dream. It's not real, but it isn't made up. We're close. They're forcing eridium through her body, but they haven't bound her power. She's communicating. This is starting to hurt my head. LILITH ISN'T HERE! I shouted so loud in my head that my voice erupted into being and filled the room with my screams.

"I know Ten, calm down, it's just a dream." Mist said as she put a towel across my face, forcing my head against the pillow.

"It wasn't just a dream. Something has happened to Lilith. Our girls are in BIG trouble this time. She put herself into my dream, she forced it, shaped it. Until I'd understand. They have forced her to try and induce my rage. Mist, I AM the seventh key to their whacky prophecy. They need my dark side." I said frantically, but still somewhat calm.

She bit her lip cautiously then stood and walked out of the door. "I'll get everyone here asap." She said as she walked off and left me to clean myself from the sweat that had drenched my body. A nightmare? No, a bad dream? Definitely, but it wouldn't haunt me. It was what would drive me to get my friends back alive. They wanted my dark side? It's about time that I face off against my real demons.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

I'll admit, the very last thing I would have thought would be the talk of the ships would be a new device that Gen and Gaige had created that fused two beings together. I literally cursed inside my mind. That's not right, Lilith couldn't have known the future. She must just have seen the present from someone else's point of view and guessed. This is it though, this is the real deal. This is no bad dream. I am really about to go down to the lower deck and volunteer to fuse with someone.

* * *

"Similar strength, similar mentality or you won't fuse, simple as. Who's first?" Gen asked. Well, things were a little bit different from my dream but I don't think I need to voice it, it's best to just let this play out.

"ETA for Loboria?" I asked, and instantly one of the pilots voiced themselves over the intercom.

"Ugh, twenty hours. Captain." Griff said lazily.

"Captain? Did he just call me captain? Griff, if you don't knock that shit off I'll throw you out of the airlock!" I shouted in response.

"How powerful is the fusion?" Jace asked. He was obviously very curious about this, but then he would be.

"Multiple settings. We can do a mental fusion where two people are pushed into one body. And the most powerful thing we have is a pure mixture of every part of the participants." Gaige said while she wrenched away at something on the side of the machine. An open panel. That's not reassuring.

"Me. Someone fuse with me. This is important." I said as I stepped into the pod. It wasn't two pods on either side, it was just one singular chamber that would create the fused being.

"Sure, let's go." Jace smirked. How well would he cope inside my mind? He already had my demonic anger and rage at his disposal. I wonder how powerful that made him.

"No. Let me." Mist said as she walked forwards.

"Are you sure?" I asked her quizzically. Why is she so eager to see my mind.

"Gaige, patch this ECHO into every raider you know. See if it reaches the other sirens." Mist said, not daring to take her eyes off of mine.

"It's on. The signal to the siren's is weak, but it's there." Mist nodded, then continued.

"One of my supernatural powers as a siren is that I can administer a truth toxin that NEVER fails. However there are some secrets that Ten has suppressed so deep down that nothing I do short of being inside his mind will reach. I have to know. If you aren't ready to share that with everyone else I will know why. You cannot deny me off this." Mist looked at me expectantly.

"Why? What has made you become so special to me that I would grant you access to my secrets?" I looked at her out of the corner of my eye. There is something different about her since I got together with her nearly a week ago.

"You'll never know. Unless we fuse." She said, not giving me any time to respond, she stepped inside the chamber and closed the door.

"The fuck are you doing?" I whispered to her, making sure that the people outside couldn't hear us.

"Making you understand. Hit it Gen!" I couldn't even take in another breath, I felt warmth inside my head, it was nothing like what I'd ever thought this would be. I felt her sweeping across everything I knew. She could sense pain and suffering, then anger and wrath, cold and dark. But the anger always returns, it always would. Her probing slowed to a halt when she went so far as to finding my darkness, a grouped together pack of secrets, things that I never wanted anyone to find out, and then in an instant she knew everything. Then it was my turn, I could remember everything about her past, every little command that the control chip had issued her, everything she had ever done. Then I understood. I understood what she meant about being special. Then the light went away.

"You're pregnant?" I was shocked. I literally had my mouth open, it didn't seem right. Why would it, that's surely not possible. We were only together as of a week ago, maximum. Could she know from a week away? A child of mine though, could be a case of supreme maturity. It is me after all. A fast developing child, well, it wouldn't be the strangest thing in my life. Still though, she seems so sure, there's no evidence of it, but I felt it as I merged my mind with hers, it was a feeling that she had no doubts about, whatsoever.

My face was as white as chalk as we both walked out of the fusion chamber. Mist was a little shaken up as well, but that was purely from the process that caused our minds to meld. I was shaken up at the revelations that merging had revealed.

"What's wrong with him?" I heard someone ask. I don't care for who it was, I was still shell-shocked by that metaphorical bombshell.

"Ten? Are you OK?" Roland had me by the arm, stabilizing me. I felt Mist's hand push into mine. Suddenly the colour flourished back into me and I felt an almost overwhelming urge of situational awareness. All eyes were on me. "We can tell them if you want to." Mist said, coming closer to me and tightening her grip on my hand. No sense in hiding anything, right?

I looked around the room before speaking up. Some people were expecting bad news, some hopeful for good. Krieg looked bored. The thing about Krieg is that it's half and half on what his mood will be, but you can never physically tell until he's spoken to you. Though, he's more likely to plainly shout at you if he's in his psycho man mode.

"I'm going to be a father…" Everything went silent. I could hear their thoughts inside my own head, or what I expect their thoughts to be.

"Well, I'll be damned. We're getting on with our age old friend. I can't say that I blame you for deciding to settle down. Although, that being said. Did anyone else see that coming?" Jace spoke slowly and carefully. He was just as shocked as me. Out of everyone, I was probably the last person he expected to commit to something like this. It wasn't my choice Jace, trust me on that.

* * *

That was what it was. That was what I couldn't quite place about Mist. She had that overjoyed glow. A new life was beginning inside her and while it wasn't quite the same as that trademark golden glow of maternity, she was definitely different.

"Ship three here calling ship two." Torgue's voice came over the short range coms.

"Loggins here. How far out is your drift Torgue?"

"Two miles. Patching Grif through now." Torgue responded.

"Grif here, got your com request. Drift patterns are changing rapidly. Approaching Loboria's gravity fields in twenty minutes. ETA for land, forty five considering full ground resistance. Check?"

"Confirmed Grif. Loggins out, see you on the ground gentlemen. Torgue, leave a final statement." Loggins said before he cut out from the speaker system.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is MISTER M***** F****** TORGUE coming to you live from COCKPIT THREE! We are due to hit Loboria's grav fields in twenty, which means gear up you lazy slobs! We expect heavy ground resistance. Do what you gotta' do, this is going to be a messy one." Torgue cut off. Silence. Echoing silence. Scary stuff.

* * *

There it was, that brilliant planet. Jace's home planet. I can only imagine that he'll be the first off the ship in either situation. Those situations being either a full frontal ground resistance, which I'm expecting to most, then a more diplomatic approach, which I don't see the order doing for three exploration class space cruisers. Food for thought.

* * *

All I could find was a yellow apple. Better than nothing I suppose. Roland, Axton and Astor are going through the plan. I doubt it will make much difference to me in the end, I'll just do what I always do. Kick ass and take names never.

"Ten? Are you paying attention Ten?" Mist asked me.

"Hmm? Yes, of course I am." I lied. She clearly saw right through that.

"Where are you situated?" She quizzed me.

"Wherever I'm needed." I replied smugly. Lucky guess because it was more or less correct. The plan was actually to have three different strike teams. Team one was all heavy hitters. Me, Jace, Krieg, Salvador, Brick and Gaige. Torgue insisted on bringing something along in the hangar bay for the third ship. Some kind of aircraft outfitted with the newest tech, which I assume he will be manually piloting himself.

Team two for the assault was everyone else that wasn't immediately going back to Pandora once we had secured the sirens. That was basically, Axton, Astor, Moxxi and Mist. Loggins would be piloting the immediate return ship. We planned to have that leave in two hours max. Which means that if I want to get in and save my friends, I'm really going to have to power through.

Team one were standing on the de-elevation platform that we eventually deployed. It would take us right down to the planet surface. Fortunately, there was no ground resistance on this part of Loboria at least, but there was a greeting party of three people. I recognize one of them. But not the other two. From orbit, we could see a LOT of settlements and cities dotted around this side of the planet. We had landed near the biggest city there. This was where the Hall of the Alpha was kept, and this is where the Order were no doubt keeping the sirens.

I expect the order to have brainwashed the locals into fighting for then, so even gaining entrance to the Hall will be a struggle. This is a planet of lycans. Wolves, none of them like Jace though. Jace was a human-lycan hybrid, the ONLY to ever retain a humanoid form when transformed, the rest would turn into pure wolves, all the same size or bigger than average humans.

"Everybody go back up. New plan. Me and Ten are team one. EVERYONE else is team two. Except the pilots. Trust me, this is going to get brutal." Jace said without taking his eyes off of the landing party. Now I know where I recognise the man in the middle from. It's Andrew. He's the current Alpha male. He took over Jace's thrown when Jace was cast out from Loboria. I don't remember much about it but it happened recently. It was to do with one of Handsome Jack's lackeys, Nakyama I think? He tricked Jace into killing his lifelong lover, Elizabeth, the sister of Andrew. He was right, this would get bloody.

* * *

"You shouldn't be here Jace. Everyone is on orders to kill you on sight." Andrew said when we came within earshot.

"Then why haven't you?" Jace challenged.

"Because I was curious of why you'd come. Much more of why you'd come peacefully. Or at least so far." Andrew replied.

"No. IT's because you know you cannot take Jace, at all, by a long shot. You've come to try and prevent the fight before he eventually kills you." I said plainly and quite bored, it was a tense situation no doubt, but still I managed to give an unenthusiastic response. Andrew looked at me carefully. The male on his right spoke up with venom in his voice.

"Watch your tongue ingrate, you're addressing the Alpha of Loboria, if your words meant anything to any Lycan then it would be considered a challenge. You're nothing. You're lower than the dirt you stand on." He said provocatively. Yay, a challenger already.

"Careful Dirk, you do NOT want to go down THAT path with THIS man." Andrew said, never once taking his eyes off of me.

"Sir? You believe he is otherwise?"

"Oh yes he is you thunderous moron." The female on Andrew's left spoke up. She didn't seem like much of a fighter, possibly a non-combatant if things went sour?

"He's had many names. What's your favourite nickname Ten?" Jace asked me. When he spoke my name, something clicked in Dirk's eyes. He'd realised his major mistake.

"Probably the Harbinger of Hell. That one stands out to me. And you've just directly challenged me. Correct me if I'm wrong Andrew but by old tradition, you respect power, and while I could never challenge the Alpha, I can defend my various titles against ANY challenges represented to ME. And I, unlike Jace, am NOT banned from Loboria." I smiled wickedly, my eyes were locked onto Dirk, my prey was in my vision.

"Sir?" He stuttered, visibly sweating all over. Andrew had that look. There was NOTHING that would save this loud mouthed moron now.

"I'm so sorry. By ancient law, you cannot decline an accepted challenge. You DO however have decision over means of combat." Andrew trailed off slightly at the end, his field of vision scanning the area behind us.

Dirk nodded simply. He must have realised that it was futile from here on out.

"Hand to hand it is." Dirk stepped back and transformed. Jace, Andrew and his female assistant all stepped back.

"Gaige, Gen, broadcast ECHO again please. Planet-wide." I whispered into my ECHO. Everyone could see this forthcoming battle.

Dirk rushed me. Jumping high to bite viciously at my neck. I've fought many lycans before. Most were stronger and faster than this one. I moved my arm so fast it didn't seem possible. But a moment later there was a sickening crack of bone and a blood red mist sprayed out of the back of Dirk's transformed skull. I had punching through his skull from his open mouth. I let him fall to the ground.

"Well, that was disappointingly easy." I frowned.

"Well, unfortunately it seems that we are now at war. As you well know, we are protected and backed by the order. Every lycan is issued to be hostile towards you all. I'm sorry it came down to this." Andrew said before his image faded to nothing. He was a hologram. By why would he send a hologram along with a bodyguard? The assistant merely started walking away, she was real as well. Interesting.

"Are you going to disobey direct orders?" I asked, calling after her. She turned and looked me in the eye, taking off her glasses for added effect.

"I'm not Lycan. I'm Nephilim." She smiled before turning away.

"Fallen angel or?..."

"Demonic mother." That was the last I heard from the blonde lady.

"Oh SHIT!" I shouted in frustration.

"I take it that's not good." Jace blandly.

"Not a bit. Nephilim. I'm fairly certain that both myself and Rose are Nephilim. I'll let you know if I ever find out." I said before getting back onto my feet.

"Hey lady?" I called out to her. She turned away from me. The ground started shaking and I rose into the air.

"So am I." I smirked. She gently rose to meet me. Well, that confirms my suspicioun about my heritage. This isn't good. But still, an opponent that I can really have a fight with.

"Raiders. The war has begun!" I shouted as I met the blonde woman head on in a collision that shook the earth below.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

I know what was going to happen, but I let it happen anyway. It was either me or my friends that would be put into this situation. She knew about her heritage, mine is still just a theory at best. She's going to be so much more powerful than me. I'm going to die, this is where I'm going to die. No offence Jace, but this particular part of your home planet is nothing but marsh and bog.

_"Do not doubt your abilities."_ That's not any voice I've heard before. It isn't my personality, and it isn't a dull voice. It's not Heat or Fuel or my inner darkness. No, that was someone else. Like how Lilith had been communicating with me.

_"She may kill you, but you will rise again, Nephilim." _

"Who are you!?" I shouted out, not realising that this voice had already gotten under my skin with minimal communication. That's not good. Whoever it is, they know me well enough to instil me with doubt. Not fear, but doubt.

"My name is Tara. I'm going to be the one who kills you." She smiled as good naturedly as ever before she closed the distance between us and put a hand inside my body before I could even blink. How was I supposed to stand up to that? NO! I will not give up. Heat can heal me. If I can only bring him out. Fire engulfed me and it felt so good, it never hurt me anymore, I purged the fire around my body as the heat engulfed my wounds and the flesh knit itself together. I didn't change into Heat, I was just becoming more efficient with his power.

Tara backed off for a few moments. I saw all of my friends below rush the oncoming waves of Lycans. A definitive path being formed around Jace. None of them were daring to challenge Jace Torgue. The only thing the people of this world were more afraid of than me. Let's change that. I spun with all of my strength and elbowed Tara in the nose, I heard a crack, a spray of blood and her body rocketed towards the ground. The impact created a shockwave that carved itself into the ground, making a nice crater.

"You'll pay for that in blood!" She screamed, infuriated, she'd probably never even felt pain before.

We both rushed each other and before I know what was happening I felt my head hit the ground and everyone stopped moving. Friends and foes alike. What was happening? Why couldn't I get up. I wasn't healing. That was when I saw the most horrifying thing in my entire life. My heart. I saw Tara walk over and drop it next to my body. I'm dying, I've got a few seconds left before I reach total brain dead state. I should shout something.

"Fortis Honestus Sensillis!" I shouted. I can't believe those were my dying words. They were shit. But it wasn't over yet.

* * *

Everyone was shocked. A few of the raiders were in tears. The Lycans were getting arrogant. They believed that they had won the battle. Maybe. But Jace was furious. This strange woman had just killed his best friend in front of him. The raiders began to back away from Jace when the lighting crackled around him. The Lycan's did as well. They knew exactly what was coming along.

Tara was quite amused at what had happened to Ten's body but know her attention was focused on Jace. She didn't know what he was doing but she did notice an ENTIRE army of Jace's own kind run away in fear. She didn't like it, but she was sure that she would be able to handle whatever it is that he would do. He transformed, it looked painful but the look in his eyes told her that he would NEVER stop for the crimes she had just commited. His fur gleamed gold for a split second before straining down to a pure silver that glinted across the moon, the FULL moon.

"Ah shit." Tara said flatly. A Lycan is the most powerful on a full moon. Jace is, despite what Andrew had told her, the strongest Lycan there had ever existed.

"Have you ever been told about Fenrir?" Jace asked deeply. Tara had been told, but this was different, besides his radiating power, he had energy crackling around him. It was the DNA shot that Gen had given him. He was able to use Heat's power but now it seemed that Fuel's power awakening and adding to his own. That would have been him angry. But there was one more power that he could administer. Ten's dark side. If the basic power came alive when Jace transformed and Fuel's came alive when he got angry. Then his almost god like form would surely awaken Ten's dormant side in Jace's blood.

He howled so loud that it shattered the air around and travelled as far as the city.

* * *

Andrew looked out from the top floor of the Hall of the Alpha. He stood in his armour, looking out the windows that overlooked the city, but much more than that he could see clearly the terrifying thing before him. Before everything that had happened with Jace and Elizabeth, Ten was a good friend to both him and the planet. Ten scared the shit out of him but he was a friend none the less. And now he was dead. He didn't want for this to happen but he would never be able to defeat the raiders with Ten alive. That was when Tara came to him, asking if he would allow her to help him. She said that she wanted to meet the infamous Death's Messenger that was said to be from Hell itself. It wasn't Andrew's fault that she had wanted to kill him all along.

He let out a sigh before he tensed up. He could see in the distance Jace grow to twice his size and form a silver lined fur. This isn't good. It's a full moon. He saw thousands of Lycan's run to the supposed safety of the city. The only thing that could possibly keep them safe now would be Tara. He hoped.

* * *

_"Your heart is in your hands. You literally have control over whether you die or not. Feel the strength my son. Feel the rage flood through your veins. Get up and let it take over." _There was that voice again. My son? I had to find out. Maybe Tara would know. I'll be sure to ask her after I beat her to within an inch of my life. My hand rose right in front of my head. I couldn't even open my eyes.

_"That's right my son. Let it engulf you."_

I put my hand inside the gaping wound in my chest and felt a carpet of fire erupt from underneath my body. It rose high into the sky and when I opened my eyes I was standing on a platform of still lava. All eyes on me.

"No! That's not fair, you can't be!" Tara shouted. Jace was in his Fenrir form, that used to scare me but even as a wolf, he looked shocked. I had died, and brought myself back to life.

_"Let the rage take over and drift from place to place."_ Whoever it was had the right idea. I opened my mental prison and the darkness swept over me. When my eyes opened I could tell the raiders recognised it. Tara let out a punch that sent shockwaves all around. I didn't move and inch. Weakling, all of them. She tried for another but I grabbed her fist and snapped it clean off.

_"Unleash your true power! Harness the Eridium!" _Harness the Eridium? What the hell is that going to do?

I grabbed Tara's head with my hands and I'm not sure what I did but it felt good, I caused her pain, and agony, I pushed everything out of my body and into hers before I brought everything back out. She was like Lilith in the sense that Eridium greatly enhanced her power. She wasn't strong, she was weak but the amount of Eridium she had absorbed was astounding. I felt the Eridium become part of me, I don't like it but it's going back out again elsewhere. I kept the pressure up, getting stronger and stronger until Tara was just a husk of dead body. I stepped back and released everything I had until all of my rage had gone unbound into my surroundings. People were half focused on me and half focused on something else.

Elizabeth. A faint flickering image of Elizabeth stood in the middle of everybody.

"Elizabeth?" Jace asked sincerely and softly, he was oblivious to the fact that everyone was eyes on them.

"Elizabeth, what's happening? You're dead, Nakyama… I killed you." A single tear rolled down Jace's face.

"There's something going wrong inside Ten's mind. He's causing this. He can't bring me back properly. But he's resurrected my soul from Eridium." Elizabeth knew an awful lot for someone that was a flickering purple image. The sky parted before clouding blood red and a voice boomed out of the ground.

"A soul for a soul." It was the voice from my head. I understand now.

People were looking around for answers. Jace looked at me and said nothing. He knew the situation as well as I did. It was her or me. Without even asking anyone. I pushed everything. Elizabeth got brighter and I grew darker. My soul for her soul. This was how it would be. The final process was already done. My body, broken and shattered began to disintegrate before me.

"Thank you old friend." Was all Jace managed to say, the tears already flooding. I got a few more goodbyes from people before Mist ran into my arms and pulled me in for one final kiss.

"Take care of our baby." I said, a tear forming in my eye before my body turned to ash in her arms.

She let out a cry of misery as the one person she had ever loved died in her arms.

* * *

It's bright in here. Bright red. DEMONIC red. I've woken up in chains. It's not the first time I've gone to sleep exhausted and woken in hand cuffs. Yeah, I've had a good run. Where am I? I'm dead. This can't be purgatory. Unless my soul is so stained that it's defaulted to Hell. Am I in Hell?

"Yes. You are most certainly in Hell."

"Who are you?" I asked, lifting my head ever so slightly as I did so.

"I am your father." He laughed sickeningly. He was a demon. A great winged demon. With horns as well. I wonder if I can grow horns, that would be badass.

"You're my father? Right. Well, I'm fairly certain that this is all a whacky dream and Gen is just experimenting on me again." I lowered my head. This is real. What the hell? Literally.

"Yes, I am your father. And your demonic powers were a gift. Use them as you will but I will not see you defeated by the daughter Uriel."

"Uriel?"

"The Archangel of the golden city."

"Tara said her mother was demonic."

"That girl never knew what was what. And she isn't dead. A Nephilim can't be killed when a parent is an archangel or archdemon. They can simply be brought back to life." My father looked solemn. For a demon.

"Is that why I could never be killed before?"

"Yes. Yes it is. I brought you down here for a reason. You have a lot more power than you believe. Your self-titled 'Dark side' is the power that you were born with. That's demonic by nature but you are able to control it." My father paced slightly before sitting down on a rocky throne.

"Mind taking these chains off now?" I asked, holding my wrists up. Bright red glowing chains, they were hot against my skin but they didn't burn. Inscribed with writing I don't understand.

"I will unshackle the chains but the gauntlets are a gift. Using those you will be able to amplify your anger and the intensity of your power." My father laughed deeply. I wonder how much he knows.

"Is my little rage demon another gift from you or am I unique in that sense?" I asked him, assuming he'd know exactly what I meant.

"Rage demon?"

"You don't know? Oh this is great. Fiery attitude, kind of looks like you. I'll bring him out. Heat, want some exercise?" I asked.

'_Is this a trick? I know where we are. But why not? I've always wanted to visit Hell.' _Well, that settles it then. I transformed and as soon as that rage filled persona took over my gauntlets glowed white hot and the power was incredible. Even my father look astonished at what was happening. He obviously didn't know about the side of me that was created out of rage.

Gauntlets that powered someone from rage. Heat could use them to become infinitely powerful in theory. That's not good.

"Who are you?" Heat asked, looking amused at the demon in front of him. He finally met someone of his own kind. Kind of. It's complicated.

"More importantly, who are you?" My father responded. I didn't want these two to converse, it might give Heat an even bigger ego. I forced Heat to rescind and I came back out.

"You know what he is. You created him after all. You said that Nephilims cannot properly die. Can you send me back now then?" I asked him. Eager to make sure that the rest of my friends would not have perished.

"I can. Along with the gauntlets I must bestow you with one final gift." He looked like he was trying to create an air of mystery to his words but for the life of me I just couldn't take it seriously.

"Is it unlocking my 'natural power'" I asked him, open clause with my fingers.

"Yes. It is done. Now go. Uriel's daughter will probably have been sent back by now. You cannot let her show you defeat."

"How would she do that if I will keep being sent back from Hell?"

"She would destroy your friends and scrape away everything you fight for. That would be your downfall. Now go. And show the guardian of the white city how a real Nephilim looks." And with that my vision blurred and pain seared through my body, ricocheting off of my bones. The next thing I noticed was the planet wide horizon of Loboria. This was it. The battle below me was raging on. I was entering the atmosphere. I broke through in a bright purple blaze that was soon turned into a dark flame that covered my body. I couldn't slow down and I couldn't change course. Everyone from either side of the battle was scattering. I saw Jace violently defending a large group of people transporting the newly reformed Elizabeth back onto one of the ships. That was when everyone looked up. Jace was neck deep in brawling with Tara. His silver fur and deep red eyes emulating pure terror.

I crashed into the ground. Everything stopped. Both sides of this war had seen casualties and deaths but for the first time, history had witnessed the battle between two Nephilim. And this was the result. The smoke and dust cleared. My body was exactly the same as it was before. The only new additions were the gauntlets which were heating up against my skin. My power had been unlocked, but what does that mean? How do I use it? Do I just engage that dark part of me? I'll be sure to try it when I see Tara.

Tara turned to me angrily. I felt the pulsing darkness inherit my mind and before I realized what was going on my body felt tight, all of that power had become my nature. There was no more dark personality behind it all. My father hadn't lied. I really had just taken everything that I'd hidden away behind my stained mental barriers and brought it forwards.

"Miss me?" I asked cockily. Tara covered the distance slowly, I could have dodged it but I wanted her to realize how outmatched she was. The punch struck my jaw and I slowly circled away from it in the air. My face still away from everyone elses from the punch. I began laughing.

"What's so funny!?" She demanded.

"It's just as I thought. You're nothing. That punch? It tickled." I said as I turned back, hatred in my eyes for the woman who would try to kill my friends. I punched so fast that Tara was shocked into the distance. I can feel the strain this much power puts on my body already though. I need to tone it down. I readjusted myself until I no longer felt taxed by the sheer ferocity of my raw power. What's next. Progress had been slowed incredibly since Tara had come back. Jace had been able to hold her off for a short time but obviously after that they were deadlocked at the same place. The sheer masses of Lycan's able to hold their ground against the Raiders.

Game on, next stop, hall of the Alpha.


End file.
